The Blue Eyed Monster
by dbsklover
Summary: Chrom may be oblivious about a lot of things such as others feelings for him, how to talk to girls, the occasional pebble on the ground but the one thing he never missed was how other men (and Tharja) would stare at his wife. Series of one-shots of the unrequited love of Robin's suitors. I'll try not to make it sad. P.S. Yes I know, the title is a really lame pun but oh well lol
1. Chapter 1

**Heeeyy! I'm finally starting Chrom's story!**

**If you guys didn't know, I just finished a series called _The Prince That Got Away_, that told my version of the untold unrequited love story of the girls that could have been Chrom's potential wives. Now I'm going to write a kind of flipped version of that story where Chrom has to deal with men falling for his wife, Robin. Like the _TPTGA _each chapter will feature a suitor, but for Robin this time. It will be the story of what attracted them to the mysterious tactician. **

**This story will probably be less serious and lean more towards humor since its going to be about Chrom's jealousy. I just love making a jealous Chrom, he's so cute. Whenever I reach A conversations between Robin and another guy, I wonder how Chrom would feel about it. He and Robin may already be married but some of the supports still imply feelings. Sadly, I don't think I'll be featuring a second pairing at the end of the chapters like I did for the female characters since there are so much more suitors for Robin than there are for Chrom and I don't think there are enough girls for the guys. But I'll try to make these stories more humorous so you readers won't feel as bad for them. You guys can give them happy endings with anyone you guys want if you don't want the guys to end up alone. :) Oh, that be a fun idea, I'd love to see what happy endings you'd give the guys too. **

**The order of the chapters will be as such:**

**Fredrick**

**Virion**

**Stahl**

**Vaike**

**Kellam (I didn't forget him!)**

**Lon'qu**

**Ricken**

**Gaius **

**Gregor**

**Libra**

**Henry**

**Basilio**

**Donnel **

**Owain**

**Inigo**

**Brady**

**Gerome**

**Yarne**

**Laurent**

**Gangrel**

**Walhart**

**Yen'fay**

**Priam**

**Tharja ('cause no one loves Robin more than her!)**

**Yeah, I have to make the list to make sure I get all of them. Also to make sure I continue and not give up halfway (I am a veeerrryy lazy person). I feel kinda bad for Chrom now, looking at the list LOL He had only a handful of suitors for himself and now he has to deal with all of these people, even guys from the second generation and enemies, going after his wife. As the author who dictates how these stories will go all I can say to Chrom is... good luck. (lol jk I don't dictate these stories, they just come to me and all I do is crudely type them out for you guys to read. XD)**

**Hope you guys like it and show as much enthusiasm for this story as you guys did for _The Prince That Got Away_! Thank you for taking the time to read all of this (though I'm pretty sure most people would just skim through this *I would*) and hope you enjoy what's to come! -DBSKLOVER**


	2. Chapter 2: Frederick

**Sorry, I didn't mean to leave off this story in the middle of no where. It just happened that almost all my classes were assigning essays, the week before finals... =_= so yeah had to do several essays and that didn't leave me in a very write-y mood. Then finals came and then after finals I got distracted hanging out with my friends when they got out of school too and now I'm taking summer classes and I'm planning to go to AX this weekend too. But I'm trying. I tried to think of how to make this story brighter but its kinda angst-y. But then again its Frederick (the guy who doesn't know how to relax), I love him and his grumpy self. When I saw him in the beginning I was fangirl-ing so hard when he was like "we can't trust this chick" I couldn't help but agree LOL -DBSKLOVER**

* * *

**Frederick**

Fredrick still remembered the day he met Chrom. He was quite young but was deemed a prodigy in the field of knighthood and practically anything else that was asked of him. Word got to the King and he requested that Frederick become the personal tutor and guardian to Prince Chrom. Fredrick felt awkward in the presence of the king and felt uneasy having to live in the castle with the prince if he was to be anything like his father, but Frederick was raised to be faithful to Ylisse and loyal he would stay even if he had to cater to a spoiled prince. He took a deep breath and knocked on the prince's door. There was a silence, Frederick assumed the prince must have been asleep. Frederick sighed, the prince was just like any other nobleman's son.

A maid happened to notice Frederick as she was passing by. "May I help you," she asked smiling.

Frederick nodded his head politely, "I am fine madam, I am here under the king's order to be Prince Chrom's personal swordsmanship tutor. I knocked but it seems that he is still sleeping."

"Sleeping?" The maid looked confused at first but then her face turned into horror as she rushed to open the door, "not again, Prince Chrom!" Frederick was confused, did the prince have a health condition? He followed close behind as the maid rushed into Prince Chrom's quarters. "Prince Chrom, get down from there this instant!" Frederick looked around to see a blue haired boy not that much younger than him leaning over a windowsill looking back at them with a sheepish grin.

"U-um I was just getting some fresh air?" Was the nervous excuse that came out of the prince's mouth.

"No, get down from there this instant Chrom," Frederick's eyes widened at how the maid was addressing the prince of Ylisse. "You are not going to skip out on your lessons again."

Chrom dragged his body away from the window with a loud groan, " but lessons are so boring, I want to start sword practice. Everyone said I should be able to start now, I'm old enough now!"

The maid sighed, "that's why you should have been a good boy and opened the door." She stepped to the side and gestured to Frederick, "he is to be your new swordsman tutor."

Chrom's blue eyes seemed to gleam at the news and he rushed to greet Frederick. "Hi, I'm Chrom," he extended his hand grinning, "are you really going to be my teacher?"

"Yes, Milord," Frederick bowed.

Chrom raised an eyebrow, amused by Frederick's action. "You don't seem to be that much older than me, you can just call me Chrom."

"I cannot do such a thing, you are the prince and I am just a-"

"You know, everyone uses that excuse to not be my friend," Chrom smiled sadly but the corners of his mouth raised a little when he faced Fredrick, "will you be my friend?"

Frederick was taken aback, he never realized how lonely it must have been to be a prince. "It would be an honor to be your friend, Prince Chrom." Fredrick slapped his arms to his sides and gave a 90 degree bow.

Chrom chuckled at Frederick's bow, "you're funny, what's your name?"

"Frederick, Milord."

Frederick glad to realize that his image of a spoiled prince was wrong, Chrom was anything but spoiled, he was always kind to others. Being secluded as a child just because he was the only prince was a really lonely time for Chrom and now with Frederick around he had more freedom to explore the castle and meet more people and he was willing to take any opportunity he could to make friends. His friendliness was what he admired in his prince but it also worried him. Being the prince obviously many sought out friendship with Chrom because of his title. Chrom was never suspicious of anyone who greeted him, never suspected any smile. Frederick stood to serve as Chrom's cautious side. Especially after that girl.

There was a girl who took an interest in Chrom, Jezebelle, and he seemed interested in her too, as much as a young preteen boy could. Frederick was a little suspicious at first but the girl was also of noble birth and very well mannered and Chrom seemed to be really interested in her. But Chrom was still a preteen boy so even when they were together he would leave her to her needlework as he ran around practicing his swordplay with the other boys. Frederick often felt sorry for her and would keep her company and sew with her, he was quite good at it after all. He assured Jezebelle that Chrom did like her, he just didn't fully understand romantic feelings for a girl yet, but when he did he would definitely realize it was her. And Frederick believed it, he thought Jezebelle was polite, well mannered and quite pretty, one worthy of Chrom. But Jezebelle was still unsure, she became increasing jealous of Sully who was always by Chrom's side. One day she couldn't take it anymore and mocked Sully but unfortunately for her Chrom and Frederick was there to hear her.

Frederick was surprised, he had never seen this side of Jezebelle. He never knew she could be so cruel but as soon as she burst into tears he began to feel sorry for her again. She had only wanted attention from Chrom.

"Wasn't that the girl you liked?" Stahl asked Chrom.

"I didn't like her, I just thought she was cute," Chrom tried to pick up his sword nonchalantly but Frederick could see that Chrom felt betrayed by Jezebelle's personality change and slightly guilty at her tears. Frederick began looking for Jezebelle to explain everything and hopefully help work things out between her and Chrom. He found her crying in an empty courtyard surrounded by friends, with a nod they left Frederick alone with her.

"Jezebelle," Frederick started before she ran into his arms.

"Oh Frederick I should have picked you from the start," she sobbed into his shirt.

Frederick was utterly taken back, "Jezebelle, Prince Chrom didn't mean-"

"I don't care about Chrom," Jezebelle screamed facing Frederick, "I only got close to him because my father wanted us to build relations with royalty. But you're better than Chrom. I'm sure my father would accept you instead, Frederick." Frederick was shocked into silence. "Chrom may look like a prince but he can't do anything but break and destroy, just like his father."

That's when Frederick snapped out of it, "Chrom is nothing like his father. He might not be the most coordinated but he doesn't mindlessly destroy because he wants to, he tries to restrain his impulsiveness as much as he can and considers the feelings of everyone, even his enemies. Don't you dare insult the prince in front of me." It was Jezebelle's turn to stare wide eyed and speechless in front of Frederick.

"Stop! No one wants you here Chrom," Frederick heard Jezebelle's friends in the distance. "You may look pretty but you can't do anything, we bet you didn't even know everyone likes Frederick better than you, he would definitely make a better prince."

"I'm sorry about that," Chrom smiled and Frederick felt as if lead was dropped in his stomach, he knew Chrom enough to see that the comments had hurt him severely. "Could you just tell Jezebelle I was sorry for the tone I took." Frederick began seeing red, why should Chrom apologize? He had only scolded Jezebelle for something she should have been scolded for and just because they were trying to defend their friend didn't mean they could attack Chrom that way, he was still their prince!

"Enough," Frederick roared, all eyes turned towards him. He glared at the girls, "get out, all of you." They all stood frozen in shock, even Chrom. "OUT!" They all rushed out, except for Jezebelle who stood frozen watching Frederick. "ALL of you." She jumped a little and ran out in tears. When he calmed down enough he looked at Chrom who was still frozen in shock. Frederick couldn't look Chrom in the eye. "I'm sorry milord, I didn't mean to startle you. Don't listen to them, I could never compare to you."

"No they're right."

"Milord!" Frederick exclaimed.

"You are an amazing person, and I admit you are better than me." Frederick looked at Chrom's face unable to believe his ears. "You are an amazing person and I'm glad I can always trust you to be my friend, there's nothing for you to apologize for." This time Frederick could see the smile was genuine. Frederick couldn't help but think that Chrom was truly the better man. Prince Chrom was a man that he would be willing to give his life for, Frederick vowed then that he would protect Chrom from ever feeling this betrayal again.

Everything was going well until _She_ came. Everything was suspicious about her from the start. They had found her in a field, with amnesia, yet was able to remember Prince Chrom's name. She was also quite pretty... but Frederick perished the thought, of course they would pick a pretty girl if they were trying to seduce the prince. But she wasn't a typical kind of pretty more of an innocent kind of pretty... Frederick scolded himself for thinking that again, this girl was good, she had already seduced the Chrom and Lissa with her innocent confused persona but she wouldn't fool Frederick. He can't let anyone harm Chrom and Lissa, whether physically or emotionally._  
_

"What will you do with me? Am I to be your prisoner?" Frederick almost felt an urge to reassure her but Chrom beat him to it and that reminded him he had to be cautious, for Chrom.

"Ha! Someone pay this actor. She plays quite the fool!" He became even more skeptical when she stated she had never heard of Ylisse, who hadn't heard of Ylisse?! She looked up at him with (pretty?) furrowed brows and a (cute?) pout. "The furrowed brow is especially convincing..." Frederick didn't mean for the last part to slip past his lips but luckily Chrom had turned to explain Ylisse to the strange girl. His caution was raised when the strange girl seemed to hold proficiency in not only swordplay, but tomes and tactics too. She might have looked rusty but she showed a lot of potential, and though this made Frederick more cautious, it only seemed to make Chrom trust her more. Frederick saw how Chrom looked at her, she had potential to not only hurt Chrom physically but possibly emotionally too. Frederick kept his eyes on her the entire time waiting for her to do something suspicious he could call her out on, he only looked away when he was distracted by the horrid bear meat set in front of him. When he looked up he was horrified to see the woman tearing into the bear meat like a starving animal. He really had to keep an eye on this woman. This Robin.

"Frederick, you've been watching me for weeks now. I'm just reading, as always," Robin sighed.

"I still don't trust you," was Frederick's response. Robin sighed shaking her head and refocused her attention on her book. Frederick sat across from her, arms crossed, staring at her. She seemed to be a fast reader, he mentally noted, and she has long lashes. He caught himself and tried to erase it from his mental note. Don't fall for her womanly charms, Frederick scolded himself, he was good at deflecting seduction even the really forward ones but here he was getting seduced by a woman merely reading. She was really good. He looked up when he heard her giggle, he followed her eyes to see Lissa scolding Chrom for accidentally breaking the water basin spilling it all over her dress.

Robin turned her smile at Frederick, "for a prince he's pretty clumsy huh?" Frederick jumped out of his seat surprised by the sudden direction of her smile. Robin herself seemed raised her eyebrows at his sudden movement, "Frederick?"

"No!" Frederick pointed a finger at her, "you will not fool me with your womanly charms, I am not that simple minded!" With that he stormed away before she could try to make a fool him anymore than she already did.

"Womanly charms?"

After that he loosened up on his watch, partially because he found it was getting harder to distrust her when she was opening up more with him. He didn't think she would feel comfortable enough but she came up to him one day asking to help her spar. By then he saw that she was harmless enough to help her train, and it presented an opportunity for him to learn her fighting style. She was rusty but her body steadily adjusted herself to Frederick's training routine, surprising him a little. She persevered even as she complained, and Frederick couldn't help but smile a little as he was reminded of Chrom when they first started their training.

"Whatever you like—name it and it's yours," Robin offered, gratitude for helping her train.

Frederick didn't particularly want anything but he agreed to think about it, feeling that she would persist until he gave in. The thought was forgotten as they delved deeper into the war and he began to stop seeing her as a stranger and simple just as Robin after she confirmed her loyalty in every battle. He began allowing her around Chrom more often, though he had to then play nanny to two charges as he was often the one to remind them to eat when they got caught up with plans for the next battle. He was also too often caught in the middle of small skirmishes between the two too."

"Robin, you should get back to your own tent now," Frederick advised, "a lady shouldn't be out so late."

Robin pouted and looked over at Chrom with half lidded eyes, "don't worry Frederick, according to Chrom I'm not a woman."

Chrom dropped his arms exhausted, "I didn't say you weren't a woman, I just said I didn't think you were a _lady_."_  
_

"Frederick thinks I'm a perfectly normal woman," Robin mumbled. "He thought I was trying to seduce him with my 'womanly charms' when all I did was giggle."_  
_

"What?" It was the first time Chrom had turned his dissecting gaze at Frederick and he was slightly surprised at the hidden hostility he could see behind his eyes. He then turned the look towards Robin, "when did you giggle with Frederick, what did he do that made you giggle?"

Robin opened her mouth to respond but remembered it was because she was watching Chrom. She snapped her mouth shut as her face started turning red. She turned and headed towards the exit of the tent before Chrom could see the blush. "I think I will head to bed, good night."

But Chrom had noticed the blush and followed her out of the tent. "Wait, you never answered me!" He saw the way Chrom looked at Robin, the way he treated her so he wasn't surprised when he heard of the announcement of their marriage.

Robin was nothing like Jezebelle, she was no noble, she had no table manners and she wasn't exceptionally pretty. But he saw how she looked at Chrom, the way she smiled at him. It was true they often squabbled like children and he had to scold her on occasion as he did Chrom but she was also slightly more mature. She could switch from whining child to confident tactician in a split second. Robin could also support Chrom in ways that he himself couldn't, they could just look into each other's eyes and Frederick could see their shoulders relax from the unspoken words between them. Robin certainly wasn't like Jezebelle and she wasn't what Frederick thought when he thought of Chrom's future wife, but he had to admit, there couldn't have been anyone better. But he couldn't help feel his throat close up as he walked her down the isle, he wasn't jealous of the closeness she shared with Chrom, there would always be things Chrom could only talk about with other males. But as he watched the two stand in front of the altar beaming at each other he couldn't help but avert his eyes.

_Whatever you like_ he recalled one evening _name it and it's yours. I want you_, he dropped the plate he was cleaning. Where did that thought come from?! That wasn't what he wanted! It was a random thought that popped in his mind out of no where. He was surprised at how such a vulgar thought could have been circulating in his mind. But now that it was in his mind, it kept popping up out of no where. Frederick looked frantically for a favor he could ask Robin to get that thought out of his head, but what? Then he remembered, the bear meat. _  
_

Frederick began searching for Robin immediately, the sooner he got this favor over with the sooner he could be rid of the inappropriate words circling in his mind. He spotted her walking across camp and sought her out. "Hello, Robin. I've thought about your previous offer."

"The favor? Oh, good! What'll it be? Just say the word," Robin smiled at Frederick eagerly waiting to hear his reply.

_You. _Frederick fought to keep the thought out of his head as he explained his bear aversion to Robin. As he watched Robin talk he couldn't help noticing how pink her lips were... _No! _He caught himself and began mentally talking to himself to imagine ugly things to distract him from her pretty lips, like how she tore at the bear meat that night, yes like an animal. "Like an animal, or a savage... Or like you, Robin," his thoughts slipped into his conversation without his notice. Robin stayed silent for a long time just giving Frederick a look. He finally noticed the silence and refocused on their conversation. "Er, Robin? ...Did I say something wrong?" Did she find out about his vulgar thoughts? He sighed in relief when she dropped the topic but that relief was short lived as she tried to poison him with bear jerky.

"Hey there, Freddy Bear! I've got some new cured meat for you to try..." Robin smiled waving a bag of jerky near her head.

"I'll thank you not to refer to me by that ridiculous name... And I'm not so gullible as to fall for your bear-jerky trick twice," Frederick crossed his arms and frowned at her. Somewhere during their bear meat training they had gotten closer. She teased him more often and he just sighed and put up with it. But they were good moral support for one another and he knew he could trust her to guard he had nearly given up during the session if it weren't for Robin's encouragement.

"Let's finish this, Frederick! Open wide!" Robin held the piece of jerky in front of Frederick and he couldn't help but blush as he bit into the meat. Fighting back his blush was enough to distract him as he swallowed the jerky.

"Your Majesty, I don't think it is wise to do this, it would be best if we headed back to the castle," Frederick ushered.

"Pfft, Your Majesty? I preferred it when you referred to me as a stranger and it's fine. You're just like Chrom," Robin sighed, "I'm not dying I'm just pregnant." Robin was indeed pregnant and wandering through the streets of Ylisse. "I just wanted to see more of Ylisse while I can." News was already known that the Prince had married someone within his army during the war but they didn't announce that it was Robin. As they headed back to Ylisse, they had found that Robin was pregnant. They decided to wait until the royal baby was born before formally coronation. They felt that introducing the new queen along with the crowned child might ease the criticism at the fact that Robin wasn't only a commoner but an outsider. Robin had taken the opportunity to travel the streets of Ylisse freely. Chrom had ordered her to stay still and safe in the castle but Robin, even though it was her job to give out orders, hated receiving them. So the instant Chrom left for a diplomatic meeting she took Frederick and snuck out into town. "Oh isn't this clip cute?" Robin picked it up and clipped it into her hair smiling.

Frederick couldn't help smiling too. He held up a hand to call for the little old woman running the stand, "we will be purchasing this clip."

Robin turned to him eyes wide, "You don't have to, I was just playing around."

Frederick smiled gently at her. "But it truly does compliment you."

"Aww, Freddy Bear," Robin exclaimed hugging Frederick the best she could with her pregnant belly. Frederick couldn't help but chuckle at her efforts.

The stand lady smiled at them. "You two make quite a cute couple."

Frederick blushed immediately. "No we-"

"Thank you," Robin interrupted and gave Frederick a sideways glance as if to say play along. Robin continued to talk to the little old lady and Frederick just watched her talking animatedly with the elderly woman. She was truly a kind woman, she didn't only use her observation skills for war, she took the time to understand individuals and think of the well being of everyone overall. Frederick smiled, he was proud to call her his queen.

The little old woman giggled, "you have a very charming wife. You are one lucky man."

Before he could respond a response was already given. "Yes, I realize I am." All three was surprised to see Chrom had wrapped his arms around Robin from behind her and he couldn't be sure but Frederick thought he felt Chrom intentionally shove his shoulder a little when he went to hug Robin.

"K-king Chrom!"

"Chrom, what are you doing here?!"

"I should be asking you that question," Chrom said giving her a stern look.

Robin turned and whispered to Chrom, "what if people see us together, they are bound to piece the fact that the pregnant queen is me."

"The baby is coming soon anyways," Chrom shrugged. He then circled his arms around her, "besides, it's not like I'm ashamed of you or anything." Frederick turned away blushing feeling he was intruding on an intimate moment between the two and he felt a tiny sting in his heart. But he couldn't help but smile as he watched the two laugh as Chrom began giving her a tour. He walked slowly after them waiting to bring the two back to the castle if too much people noticed them.

Not long after that baby Lucina was born. Frederick was in silent awe as he held the next crowned princess. The child of the two people he cared for most. He caught himself, when did he start to care for Robin, when did she become so important to him? Before he could think further little Lucina's giggle snapped him out of his thoughts. He couldn't believed the tiny princess in his hands had actually fought by his side in the war. "How's the little majesty, is she happy?" The secret that no one new about Frederick was that he had a large gaping weakness for children, the smaller the child the bigger his weakness.

"Nanny Frederick?!" An older Lucina stood at the door to her childhood room blushing in embarrassment. She caught herself, "I-I mean _Sir _Frederick." Before he could respond there was news about another war.

During that time they met a doppelganger of Robin in Plegia and it made him feel uneasy when he saw that her eyes sought his as to say she was innocent. Frederick didn't doubt her, he trusted Robin now but she didn't seem to understand that. It didn't help when found that Robin was the daughter of Validar. After she explained it to the rest of the barrack she refused to look him in the eye, she began avoiding being alone with him after that. Having Robin avoid him made his throat tighten again, he wished he hadn't been so suspicious of her in the beginning. Then it came the day when Robin was controlled into giving Validar the emblems. She had turned to him and spoke for the first time since the doppelganger. She smiled but it was ridden with guilt, and Frederick felt like he couldn't breath.

"You were right," her voice broke, "I couldn't be trusted." Before he could say anything she turned and left. The moment was the last time she spoke with him for the rest of the war. It was also the moment when Frederick realized he was in love with Robin. _My Queen._

He wanted to talk to her but he didn't know what to say, he also felt too guilty to talk to her. How could he talk to his queen when he realized he was in love with her. Guilt was eating at him for being in love with his queen, even more so for being in love with Chrom's soul mate. He saw how comforted Chrom made her, whenever she questioned herself he was there to reassure her. Something Frederick could never do for her, all he could do was bring her guilt.

He regretted not trying harder to talk to Robin, even if it the guilt swallowed him whole, when he saw her fighting against Grima. "I know it would take more than this to stop you, milady!" He called out. She was stronger than this, the woman he fell in love with was stronger than this. He was so proud when she managed to fight back against Grima.

But he felt his heart sucked out of him as Robin sacrificed herself to rid the world of Grima. _I trust you! _He wanted to scream. _I trust you, you don't have to do this! Don't leave me! _She had smiled before she disappeared even as tears rolled down her face. _My Queen. _Even though Grima was gone Frederick felt the most despair he had ever felt. _  
_

"This isn't over. I believe Robin is out there...somewhere. And I'll find her. If it takes the rest of my days, I'll find her..." Chrom declared waking Frederick from the darkness in his mind. He was awed at how strong Chrom managed to be after half of his soul was ripped from him. Frederick truly felt that Ylisse could have no better king.

"I believe the same, my prince," Frederick went to stand by Chrom's side," Robin is too strong to simply disappear." He was sure she was still out there, she had to be out there. He would sacrifice anything for Robin to come back to them. Even if it meant he had to live with his unrequited love for the rest of his life.

They built Ylisse to a glory that was brighter than before and they were in a time of peace. Little Lucina was growing up beautifully but everyone couldn't help but be reminded of their lost queen in her. One day Chrom came to him asking him to come on an expedition with him.

"She's there, I feel it," Chrom said, complete certainty in his eyes. Frederick only nodded. As they approached the familiar spot Frederick could feel his heart beat racing. He couldn't even hear his horses feet clopping over his heart beat, he was too nervous to follow Chrom and Lissa to the actual spot. He wasn't ready to face her. When he saw not two but three forms heading back towards him his heart stopped. Chrom and Robin walked back together eyes not leaving each others, their hands tightly clasped. Chrom lightly wiped away a tear from her cheek, his own eyes watery as he smiled. They were a beautiful sight. He never realized how much he missed the sight of them together. He felt like he was truly watching two pieces of a soul coming together again.

Then she spotted him. She beamed at him through her tears. "Hi, Freddy Bear! I'm home." Frederick did the most uncharacteristic thing, he pulled Robin into his arms for a hug. Leaving Robin, Chrom and Lissa in awe. He sighed in relief, he didn't care that she would never return his feelings, he realized he had just wanted her back more than anything. He wanted to see her standing by Chrom's side again, the only other person he could trust Chrom to. His other best friend. My queen._  
_

Frederick stepped out of his trip down memory lane to see the tiny Prince Morgan had finally fallen asleep. He gently brushed the little prince's hair out of his eyes. "Good night my precious little prince," Frederick whispered planting a small kiss on the tiny prince's forehead before laying him down.

"Nanny Frederick! MY EYES!" Frederick turned around to see the future Morgan rubbing his eyes exaggeratedly and the future Lucina leaning against the doorway chuckling.

"I know the feeling dear brother."

* * *

**I have a head cannon that Frederick would be the nanny to the royal children which he probably would be since he is already basically Chrom and Lissa's nanny. I also feel like he would have a soft spot for children and use baby voice when no one was looking LOL I wanted to extend on how Frederick played into Chrom's relationship with his father and more of the Chrom Frederick, Robin trio adventures (more like Chrom Robin duo while Frederick keeps them out of trouble) but this chapter was already getting long. Sorry if you didn't like Jezebelle, I personally don't prefer OC's but I needed someone to solidify the friendship between Chrom and Frederick (p.s. she appeared in The Prince That Got Away). Sorry it's more angst-y than funny and jealousy but I just felt like I had to write it like this. I will never be satisfied with my work I always find something I forgot to as after I post it, especially since everything I post is my first draft LOL Hope you guys liked it anyways and hopefully it was worth the wait. Sorry if it wasn't. I can't promise a speedy next chapter either but I'll try to find free time. Don't worry I'm pretty sure this is as angst-y as it gets. Until next time, thanks for the support! -DBSKLOVER**


	3. Chapter 3: Virion

**Hey! The last time I updated was pretty long ago, before AX. I was surprised to see how much FE:A characters there were at AX, there were a lot of Robins and Lucinas LOL sadly I didn't see much Chroms :( I actually dressed as random guy with blue contacts one of the days and was doing a pretty good job acting as a guy until I watched the Kpop dance competition and began jumping and squealing like a little girl lol...I could have actually gotten this chapter up earlier but when it's hot I get lazy..er lol But managed to bring myself to type this. Another thing is I didn't know how to even start this chapter and still feel I didn't do Virion justice. I actually like him even though most of my friends find him annoying, I think he's funny and that there's more to him than his flirty self but idk how to express it *sigh* oh well sorry Virion, but hope you guys like this chapter still -DBSKLOVER**

**Note: Sorry, this would have been up sooner but I ended up going to KCON (more fangirl jumping and screaming) and getting distracted and then Universal for the first time ever :D (even though I lived so close for so long...)**

* * *

**Virion**

"Do we have to let him come along," Sully asked exasperated. When Sully had joined them she had reluctantly brought along a very frilly archer. "I'm sure if we run fast enough we can lose him."

Chrom chuckled and looked at Virion who was walking around the camp flirting with the women. "He wants to fight with us, why stop him. We could use all the help we can get."

"Yeah, but..." Sully scowled as she watched as Virion jumped to the next woman, "he seems kinda like a flake and he's so...frilly..."

"Yeah but some people would say you seem manly-ACK!" Chrom rubbed his aching side, "THAT is exactly what I meant. Yeah he seems to be a little...social... but he seems like a good person." Though Chrom accepted any assistance offered didn't mean he just blindingly trusted people, he had a country to watch out for. He had been observing Virion and after years of manner lessons he realized that Virion was in a high position of nobility. He wondered why someone of his stature was found traveling alone and would end up being a soldier in another nobles army. When he learned of what happened to Valm Chrom felt that he understood Virion better.

Virion would go around acting carefree and a bit flirtatious but Chrom saw how sad he his eyes looked whenever his lost land was brought up. Chrom also saw the look in Virion's eyes as he he set aim, the look was that of a man determined to defend his country, a look Chrom was very familiar with himself. So when others were put off by Virion's strange and flirtatious nature Chrom just smiled feeling that he understood the nobleman underneath it all.

"Not now Chrom, I have to come up with a strategy that can beat Virion," Robin waved Chrom away when he asked if she had free time to spend with him. Chrom was glad someone else other than him saw that Virion was a good addition to their army, of course if anyone knew how to read and understand people it would be his wonderful wife after all. Chrom was glad that Virion was her new playing partner too, though Chrom was not a horrible tactician he was never any good at the board game, he had also never ever been able to beat Robin in any single game. It hurt his pride a little losing all the time so he was glad that Robin had finally gotten a taste of defeat herself. He chuckled a little and left Robin to her game board.

"Ho, Virion! Care for a rematch?" Chrom's left eye twitched slightly hearing his wife call out to Virion again. Robin had been spending all her free time planning strategies to use against Virion or playing the stupid board game with Virion. Of course she was completely professional during the meetings with him and they conversed normally but he missed having just some time alone with her, just making small talk and laughing.

Chrom was sparring with Sully when he heard Robin groan out in frustration after what must be another loss. He couldn't really hear what they were talking about but he heard the last part of Virion's comment loud and clear. "Still, perhaps milady would see fit to reward the victor with a kiss?" Chrom had to clamp his lips into a pout to keep from snarling. Now he was beginning to understand why others found Virion's flirting so annoying.

Sully laughed upon seeing the look on Chrom's face. "Hey calm down, who was the one who said he was a good person." Chrom just continued to glare at her and continued to pout. "Don't worry you know Robin adores you, plus I heard Virion actually hit on Libra the other day."

Chrom knew that Robin would never cheat on him but he just hated the fact that Robin was spending more time thinking about a man other than him. She would sit up in bed planning with especially more effort on days that she wasn't able to beat Virion at least once and she wouldn't go to sleep even with Chrom's arms circling her waist, begging with his eyes for her to go to sleep too. She wouldn't even seem to notice.

"Frederick teach me how to play this again," Chrom barged into Frederick's tent with board game in hand.

"But Milord, you've never been willing to listen to the full lesson before, are you sure you don't want me to get Ro-"

"No, just teach me how to play." Frederick was slightly surprised, he had never seen Chrom so excited for any of his lessons beside swordplay. He smiled proudly and nodded. Whenever Robin went to play with Virion Chrom went to play with Frederick and though it frustrated and confused him (because how can a horseman move more spots than a wveryn rider) he learned how to play well enough to beat Frederick the majority of the time.

He walked proudly, though a bit nervously, towards the tent Robin and Virion were playing. He would not lose out to a man who wears a bib, he would at least put up a fight.

"...And I am burdened, Virion. Sometimes I feel as if I could drown on dry land. The army relies on me to plan their every move and tactic. I lack the experience for such responsibility. It's enough to make a woman flee in terror." Chrom stopped in his tracks feeling guilty, this whole time he was was caught up in his own jealousy while to Robin this wasn't just a game. She was honestly trying to fix all the holes in her strategics. It only brought more feelings of guilt when he realized he was the one who took her in as his tactician and that his unwavering faith in her was where the majority of her pressure was coming from.

He's tried to comfort her before but it still hurt him to know that it still bothered her.

"And yet here you remain, where a lesser soul might have turned craven and ran. Such actions have earned you the respect of us all, you must know that? And regardless of this game, your skill on a true battlefield approaches genius. I am content to place my life in your hands, and that says a very great deal." Chrom's eyebrows rose in surprise at Virion's words. Though Virion seemed detached and a bit of a coward Chrom was right about Virion. He could also hear in Robin's voice that those words reassured her. He walked back to his tent and opened the game board playing with the pieces.

He guessed no matter how much he tried to support her it was good for her to hear support from people other than him. He sighed, he was grateful for Virion for being the one to tell her. He was glad someone else was able to help reassure Robin even if it was someone who was taking all her time away from him.

"Chrom?" Chrom's head shot up hearing the familiar voice. He hurriedly tried to hide the board game behind his back. "Frederick said you've been practicing the game board to play with me? He's told me you've gotten quite good." Robin walked into the tent to see her husband scrambling to hide miscellaneous pieces behind his back. She had to fight back an amused smile.

Chrom sat blushing in the mess of blankets and game pieces. "I'm still not that good and I still get confused on some of the pieces sometimes..."

Robin couldn't help the smile that came out after that. "How about we forget the game and just go for a walk," she asked.

Chrom looked up at her surprised, "really?"

"Really," Robin smiled extending her hand, "I've gotten tired of playing that game so much. Besides I miss spending time with you."

Joy practically radiated off Chrom as he smiled and reached for Robin's hand and Robin had to turn away from how adorable she found his expression.

_"Then I shall be happy to lie in your cot and whisper a sweet lullaby while you—"_

_"Not happening."_

Robin recalled the last part of her conversation with Virion as she walked hand in hand with Chrom, Robin didn't want anyone but Chrom by her side. If she and Virion said they hadn't noticed Chrom's jealous at least a little they would be lying, she was the army's tactician after all and Virion was more observant than he looked (besides the incident with Libra). They noticed his glances their way and both found it amusing so they had a silent agreement not to point it out. Looking at his happy face as he was animatedly talking to her after all the time apart, all she could say in her defense was that she couldn't help it. Robin found that she found Chrom's jealousy quite cute and she wouldn't admit to anyone but she didn't actually have to stay up so late some night planning against Virion, she just couldn't help staying up just to see Chrom clinging to her waist and pouting.

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**Sorry this chapter was focused mostly on Chrom but I couldn't really come up with anything that brought out how cool Virion ;.; Sorry Virion, I think it's because I've been to distracted and lazy and his chapter came out sloppy. If I was an actual author I'd feel so sorry for my editor lol Oh well, hopefully I do better next chapter. Thank you all for supporting this story even though the updates are so far and few in between, until next time! -DBSKLOVER**

**P.S. I found it funny how my FE:A stories' views shot up after the SSB4 announcement **


	4. Chapter 4: Stahl

**Hey I'm back! Sorry I took so long, guess you guys could say I was "Stahl-ing" LOLOLOL I won't admit it but the reason I was able to drag myself to my laptop to type this chapter might be thanks to that pun. I love gentle characters like Stahl, and his confession is so cute, "...Unless I'm about to run into a wall." I take forever to just update one chapter but thanks for being so patient with me.**

**-DBSKlover**

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**Stahl**

Stahl was one of the few friends that Chrom had known since he was a child. They would play soldiers together with Frederick and Chrom could think of nothing but nice things to say about Stahl. But recently he couldn't help feeling irritated looking at the green armored man.

"Stahl, wait up," a smaller woman called out running up to the brunette man. Stahl waited for Robin to catch up to him before he continued walking. That's right, Chrom only felt hostile towards the gentle knight whenever his wife was around him. When Chrom introduced Robin to the Shepherds a lot of the members were suspicious but Chrom was grateful for Stahl's kind personality. Stahl had always been a kind trusting person so he was glad there was at least some people to keep Robin company in the beginning. Chrom had to distance himself from her in the beginning because many thought he only recruited Robin because he was smitten with her (which turned out to be partially true), Robin had to prove her talents to the Shepherds herself. It also helped to quicken the process of accept her when they saw that someone from their group other than Chrom had befriended her. Chrom was glad that Stahl was there to be at Robin's side when he couldn't and be her friend but now he wished that they weren't so friendly with each other. Stahl was friendly to everyone but something told Chrom that Robin was more special to Stahl.

Sometimes when Robin was talking to Stahl Chrom could swear that his smile got softer and he was just starring at her face. Chrom could speak from experience because the same thing happened to him all the time. This time Chrom knew something was going on between them and it was eating at him. Robin had been spending more time with Stahl than himself recently. Chrom and Robin did share a tent and were always working on strategics together as normal but now that those were the only times he spent with her, whenever she had free time she would run to Stahl's side and he would always greet her with a smile. A unsettling feeling was swirling in his gut, he felt like they were holding a secret, especially from him. Whenever Chrom caught her whispering something to Stahl she would instantly snap away and smile trying to distract him from the sight that he just saw. Was Robin tired of him? Did she find him overbearing and wanted someone who was more attentive to her like Stahl?

"Have you seen Stahl," Robin asked Chrom one day, eyes roaming the camp for the knight.

"No, but I could help you with anything you need," Chrom stood up eager to show his wife that he could be more attentive too.

"No it's fine, I'm pretty sure he's at the cafeteria," Robin answered him distractedly as she left. Chrom could only stand there looking after his wife dejectedly. He found that he didn't have that big of an appetite that dinner either, picking at his food absentmindedly. He looked up to see that Robin was missing but it wasn't uncommon for Robin to miss meals, she often got to caught up with strategies or a book. The mysterious thing was that Stahl was also missing and that man almost never missed a meal. He tried asking around but everyone said they hadn't seen the pair since that morning.

"Robin and Stahl informed me that they were heading to the nearby market place, have they not returned," Frederick asked after informing Chrom of their whereabouts. Chrom's eyebrows furrowed, what could they be looking for that would take them so long and why did they have to go together? Chrom went back to their tent that night and Robin and Stahl had still not returned. Chrom couldn't sleep he paced the tent until he heard Robin's familiar footsteps approaching. He leaped in bed in time to pretend she had just startled him awake.

"Robin," he asked rubbing his eyes, hoping he looked convincing enough.

"Chrom," Robin greeted him with an eyebrow raised amused, "you're in bed pretty early tonight."

He checked the skies outside to see that it was still pretty early for bed. "I'm feeling pretty tired today," Chrom coughed out the excuse.

Instead of scrutinizing the situation like she normally would she just accepted his excuse happily. "That's good, you should rest whenever you feel tired. Can't have our general collapsing from fatigue can we," Robin shrugged cheerfullyy, getting ready for bed. She was humming, something Chrom recognized that she did when she was happy over something. What could she have been doing with Stahl all day that got her so happy? Though he went to bed early Chrom couldn't bring himself to sleep till long after Robin had fallen asleep, the worry eating at his thoughts all night.

He was woken up by Robin the next day with wrapping in his face. "Happy Birthday, Chrom!" His eyes shot open, suddenly full of energy even though he didn't get that much sleep last night. He was so caught up thinking about her and Stahl the day before that he had forgotten about his own birthday coming up.

"You remembered?" He couldn't help the giddiness that was overcoming him.

Robin nodded, "of course I would remember my own husband's birthday." Seeing her teasing smile he pulled her back into bed showering her with kisses. "Chrom, we have to get out of bed. I'm sure the whole camp is waiting to give you their gifts too."

"I'll greet them tomorrow," he paused laying her beside him, "I just want to stay here spending my day with you for my birthday." Her eyes crinkled when she smiled as she stroked his face.

"I wouldn't mind doing that too but you have to thank Stahl too," Chrom paused his mood a little deflated, "he did most of the work on your gift."

Chrom looked at the potion in his hands, "Stahl helped you with this?"

"Yup, I was agonizing over what I should get you for your birthday when he offered to share credit for his gift. I got the ingredients and he put it all together, we were scrambling to get it all done yesterday."Chrom was a little relieved to get an explanation for where they were yesterday but was a little conflicted about how he felt about his wife offering a present with another man. Robin managed to drag him out of his tent and he was swarmed with people offering him presents. He greeted everyone with a smile glad that so many people remembered his birthday. Then he saw Stahl standing to the side smiling too. "Um, thanks for the present, I didn't know you could make potions," Chrom greeted his old friend, the greeting came out a little awkward even to his own ears.

"I can't do as much as my father but I hope that can find it useful. Robin really helped out, I wouldn't have been able to get a lot of the ingredients without her help. She really wanted to make sure the potion was of the best quality for you." Chrom felt a little bit happier at Stahl's words and realized Stahl always had that ability to know what to say to make a person feel more relaxed in his presence. He seemed to know what people want to hear to make them feel calmer. Chrom looked back at Stahl and saw a kind smile of a friend and felt a little guilty for being jealous because of such a kind man. Stahl leaned in and whispered so only Chrom could hear, "I'll distract everyone so you can spend today with Robin, I've been taking quite a chunk of her time from you making your gift." Chrom's guilt only grew as he saw the green soldier shooing everyone away, offering to help teach them make small potions that might be useful on their journey.

"Thank you again for the gift, Robin." Chrom snuggled his face in the crook of his wife's neck that night. "You don't know how happy it makes me to know you specifically were thinking of me today."

"Of course, I'm always thinking of you," Robin nuzzled her cheek into his hair.

"Thanks for helping out," Robin greeted Stahl the next time she saw him. "For helping with the present and giving us alone time. Chrom seemed a little upset the night before his birthday, he probably thought I forgot his birthday, you should of saw how he tried to act nonchalant about it."

Stahl just chuckled, he knew the real reason but he kept that knowledge to himself. Stahl was good at reading people, Chrom included.

Stahl realized that Chrom was jealous of him and felt a little uncomfortable with the extra attention when he spent time working with Robin on his gift. He was always the average man, never gaining too much attention let alone enough to make a prince jealous. He had always enjoyed talking to Robin, she was always open minded and willing to listen to whatever he had to say. He would be lying if he said he didn't like the little extra attention she was giving him, even if it was for Chrom's gift but he really didn't like the type of attention it attracted from Chrom. He was glad to be able to clear it up with Chrom and gave Chrom and Robin a little alone time to make up for the time he had taken away in hopes to quell Chrom's jealousy. He knew it worked when he heard their laughter and saw their smiles through the day. Seeing them happy together made him happy too, the happiness that their two leaders shared always seemed to spread throughout the camp too.

But Stahl felt a small pang in his chest whenever he saw the two of them, especially when he saw how gently she smiled at Chrom. Robin still spent time with Stahl but not as consistently as she did when they were preparing for Chrom's birthday. He chided himself, he had no right to be upset that Robin didn't spend as much time with him as she did Chrom, she was Chrom's wife after all and he and her were just friends... just friends...

"What's wrong, Stahl? You sound a bit down."

Stahl jumped in shock, he was so caught up in his thoughts he didn't notice Robin had been standing in front of him. He tried to come up with an excuse quickly to distract her from his recent thoughts. He was glad when she bought the excuse that he had just recently broken up a fight between friends.

"You're always doing things like that, aren't you? Helping others with their problems. Most of us are too busy looking after ourselves, but you always find the time," Robin smiled up at him and he could feel the flush in his ears as he hurriedly made up another excuse to deflect her praise. "Ha! And now you're acting humble and deflecting praise from yourself."

Stahl rubbed the back of his head nervously, he never received this much attention from anyone before, "Er, sorry. Is that annoying?"

"Not annoying, no. But you should stand up for yourself from time to time, too. For example, you could start by telling people that today is your birthday." Stahl's hand fell to his side as his face turned to one of surprise. He was too caught up in his own thoughts he had forgotten his own birthday. "I found out, yes, but not from you," Robin accused. "Friends should be able to tell each other that much. War may be raging around was, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun sometimes."

His initial shock was followed but a wave of happiness that washed over him. "June 16, a birthday in the middle of the month and in a month that is in the middle of the year, guess that means I'm completely average huh," Stahl chuckled.

Robin's eyebrows furrowed, "what do you mean, do you know how hard it is to have a birthday so in the middle of everything. I have a normal random birthday in the year like everyone else, yours is like your the center of the universe or something, completely symmetrical." That got a chuckle out of Stahl and Robin smiled, glad to see him finally smiling for real on his own birthday."You spend so much time looking after other people that someone has to look after you. And I've decided that someone is going to be me! So, here. Have a couple of fried fig cakes in honor of your birthday." He looked behind her to see barrels of fig cakes. Robin smiled proudly, "We knew normal amounts of fig cakes wouldn't be enough for someone with your appetite so Chrom pulled some strings with the chefs. So eat to your hearts content, it's all for you!"

"Thanks," he smiled.

"You should thank Chrom, he's the one that got the chefs to make all these cakes." But Stahl knew better, Robin was looking after him, he knew that it wasn't just a coincidence that they chose fig cakes, his favorite, to give to him.

"Even I can't eat all these myself, help me out a little," he smiled offering her a cake, "everyone knows your the only one with an appetite anywhere close to mine."

"That isn't a compliment for a girl, Stahl," Robin pouted but sat down and took the cake he offered.

He laughed and smiled at her and Robin smiled at him as a response and they sat there eating cakes and talking. Others slowly started to join them, apparently, Robin had managed to spread the news that it was his birthday. He felt happier as he received each happy birthday. Stahl felt that he would soon explode from all the happiness he felt as he watched all the people sitting around him eating cake and celebrating his birthday.

"I'm getting pretty good at reading people too, huh," she nudged him. He just smiled at her, she was getting better at reading people, she read that he was a little down before and he could bet she could read how truly happy he was at the moment.

"Thanks, Robin. You're a true friend."

He kind of wished that she could have read him well enough, looked into his eyes deep enough, to see that he was actually in love with her.

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**The ending was kinda bittersweet in this one. Hope it was worth the read/wait. It kinda switched from Chrom's perspective to Stahl and my writing style was all over the place but I hope you can gloss over it enough to have enjoyed this chapter, wrote it all in one night to update it quickly or else it would have been prolonged for about another month LOL I really liked Stahl before, I actually really like all the FE:A characters but I realized writing these chapters on them makes me love them even more :) Hope it helps you guys love them more(than you already do)too. -**

**DBSKLOVER**


	5. Chapter 5: Vaike

**Sorry I've been away for so long, I was actually planning to work on this right after Stahl's chapter but school always gives me a ton of papers and projects right when I get in a writing mood and then there are finals after that, ugh. And I have to admit after that I did have a little time... and I have no excuse for not updating other than I'm lazy... It seems like a legit enough excuse for me but I give a ton of thanks for those who waited so patiently for this chapter. I think part of the reason I delay writing so much is because you guys wait so patiently and I'm afraid of disappointing you with the new chapter and the more I put it off the rustier I get and the harder it is to start writing again. Enough about me, this chapter is about Vaike! I actually think he's a funny guy, and find it sad that people think that he's an annoying muscle head. He's the type that's actually sweet if you're patient enough to get to know him and find the right supports lol, I think of him as the type that doesn't mean bad but has a type of speech that puts people off without meaning to but after you learn how to translate it he's actually a fun guy. **

**-DBSKLOVER**

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**Vaike**

"Let's go, Chrom!"

There was a collective sigh from the camp. Vaike was yet again challenging Chrom to a battle, they had just finished a battle the day before and were to tired to hear the energetic ax-welder so early in the morning. Chrom had just exited the strategy tent with Robin when he was faced with his challenger. Chrom sighed, "not now Vaike, Robin and I just woke up and we're working on this strategy and-"

"Oh I get it! You're afraid I'll kick your butt in front of your precious Robin, huh? Don't worry you already trapped her in marriage she can't leave you now!"

Chrom blushed as Robin giggled. He faced Vaike with fire in his eyes, "let's go."

"YES! Robin you keep score!"

They moved into a clearing and the rest of the camp came to watch as the two began circling each other.

"I don't know how his ego stays so inflated even though he's loss to Chrom for so long," Sully commented from the left of Robin.

"I agree, he should just leave Prince Chrom alone. We just finished a battle yesterday he must be tired," came the worried sighs of Cordelia.

"Even a child knows that Chrom has an advantage over him with a battle of sword vs. ax, he should at least switch up his weapon," was Maribelle's comment.

"Hey now give him some credit, Vaike was battling yesterday too and I have yet to see him look remotely tired," Robin smiled as she continued to watch blue and blond clash.

"That is true Robin but he cannot win with energy alone, the sword provides better agility therefore still giving Chrom the advantage," Frederick added.

"Normally yes but using ax doesn't leave him completely hopeless, if you learn how to use your weapon right and hold higher skill in your choice weapon you have a higher advantage than someone with lower ability with a more advantageous weapon. I kind of admire Vaike for sticking with the ax with such confidence," Robin complimented him.

"Don't you mean with such stupidity?" Sully chuckled.

Robin laughed a little in reply, "I don't know, I think it takes a lot to go out on the battlefield with such little on as he does."

Chrom who was listening to their conversation in the back of his head perked up at Robin's last comment. She had noticed Vaike's lack of clothes? Does that mean she's been staring at Vaike?

"Plus Chrom and Vaike have known each other for a long time, they must have picked up on each other's little habits and tells. Like Chrom, he wiggles his butt a little right before he goes for forward strikes," was what he heard when he had tuned back into the conversation. His face immediately flushed at his wife's comment, did he really?! And how did she notice?!

Chrom was so flustered by Robin's comment he didn't see Vaike barreling straight at him. Vaike knocked Chrom down with an audible thud that left everyone around them flinching and sucking in a breath.

"YES! The Vaike wins again!" Vaike jumped up arms clenched in the air.

Robin was the first to run over to Chrom and the others crowded around when they saw their leader was struggling to get up. Vaike had gotten him good and Chrom could feel the bruise forming in his abdomen.

"You got him pretty hard this time Vaike," Lissa said worriedly as she looked at the bruise.

"Ahh, he can handle it just heal it like you usually do, we've been doing this for years. Come on Chrom, you aren't butt hurt that I kicked your butt in front of your wife right?!"

Chrom blushed at the comment and glared at Vaike. They've been friends since childhood but he always hated how Vaike would always gloat whenever he won.

"That's enough from you," Cordelia stood at Chrom's defense, "he's just come back from battle and strategies and he was still kind enough to put up with your demands and now you're gloating? You attacked him when he was distracted, what a cheap attack!"

"Well it's his fault for getting distracted," Vaike shrugged, "you're just defending him because of your little crush on Chrom."

Cordelia's face was completely red out of embarrassment and everyone was quiet, knowing he went to far. Vaike stood there with a blank expression, innocent of how much hurt that caused Cordelia.

"Hey now you're taking it too far," Sully rose to Cordelia's defense. "You've always been a pompous ego maniac since you were a kid, isn't it about time you grew up."

"Hey I beat him fair and square, we've been doing this since we were kids and I don't hear Chrom complaining," Vaike said boredly picking at his ear, "Gosh Sully you've been such a nag since we were kids."

"Why you little- Are you even listening to what I'm saying?!"

"Now now," Robin stood between the two waving her arms, "It is Chrom's fault for getting distracted and Vaike did win, but Vaike you do sound kinda like a sore winner." Everyone was quiet, not sure how to handle the situation. Chrom knew Vaike didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings, he had always been like this since childhood. Vaike had always had trouble understanding the situation and when Chrom met eyes with Robin he knew she understood too. She nodded to Chrom and smiled at Vaike, "Hey Vaike, can you teach me how to use an ax, I wanna give it a go and who better to to teach me than the best."

Vaike perked up at the opportunity, "You want Teach to teach you? Sure, no prob." Vaike started walking still talking excitedly and Robin gave Chrom a small smile before following after Vaike. As Robin was distracting Vaike Chrom worked to defuse the tension around him. He assured the people around him he was fine and slowly they dispersed and when back to their own business.

A little while later Robin and Vaike came back into camp, with Robin looking thoroughly worn out. He was still chatting with Robin excitedly when Robin elbowed Vaike to get him to look ahead of them. Cordelia was walking by and flinched a little when she saw Vaike. Robin nodded with her head as if to cue Vaike.

Vaike walked up to Cordelia rubbing the back of his head, "Hey, I don't get what I did wrong but the Teach is sorry if what he said hurt your feelings."

"Um, thank you," Cordelia coughed awkwardly not knowing how to receive that apology.

"Though you would think you'd get over that crush now that he's married- OUCH!" Cordelia blushed and took that moment of distraction to leave the scene.

"Gosh you still suck at apologies," Sully sighed. "Where's mine by the way."

"Why should I apologize to you," Vaike asked rubbing his head confused, "you were the one being a busy body."

"Hey Vaike! How about you go get dinner, even warriors gotta eat," Robin exclaimed trying to keep another fight from starting.

"That's true, Teach's feeling kinda hungry, let's go!" Vaike picked up Robin carrying her with him.

"Wait, Vaike! I can walk," Robin exclaimed.

"You're still sore from our training right, not everyone can have the same endurance as Teach," he bounced Robin a little on his arm, "you feel that muscle?" Robin tried in vain to argue as he carried her towards the cafeteria tent. Chrom was watching the whole time. Vaike took a lot of patience to understand and did say the wrong things at the wrong times a lot and Chrom was glad Robin understood but...

After that Vaike seemed to seek Robin out constantly. He always had the habit of just picking her up not even bother to see what she was doing and carry her along with him. That part he also hated was that she would just give up and humor him in whatever he did.

"And you just swing your arm like THAT!" Vaike was still trying to teach Robin how to use an ax but he wasn't the best teacher. The ax came naturally to him and he just assumed that it came naturally to everyone else too. "Easy right?"

Robin just nodded along with forced excitement, "wow, you're really good! So strong!" Chrom pouted to himself, he could swing the ax like that too but Robin never complimented him on it. Chrom was glad that Robin was being patient with Vaike but he just wished she didn't stroke his ego so much. Vaike always offered for people to touch his muscles but many just ignored him. Robin had humored him and reluctantly felt his arm.

"Uh huh, they are very nice Vaike," Robin smiled awkwardly.

"Here, feel the abs, like smooth rocks huh," Vaike grinned leading her hands towards his stomach.

Robin caught Chrom's eyes and sighed in relief. "Oh sorry got to go, I promised Chrom something," Robin made her excuse and ran away from the blond dragging Chrom with her. "Thank you for walking by or else he would have kept it up for hours."

Hours? Chrom didn't like the thought of Robin touching another man's abs for hours. When they got back to their tent Robin took off her robes tiredly letting out a large sigh. "You know you don't have to humor him so much, you're just going to feed his ego" Chrom told Robin leaning against the table in their tent.

"Someone's got to do it," Robin chuckled brushing her hair.

"Yeah but why does it have to be you."

"Because I'm the tactician, I have to make sure all our soldiers are okay and get along." Chrom pouted not happy with the answer, Vaike didn't see Robin as a woman but Chrom still didn't like how casually he touched his wife. Robin saw the pout on Chrom's face and smiled, "why, jealous."

"Yes," Chrom admitted hugging Robin from behind. Robin let out a chuckle in reply.

"Well good, now you know how I feel whenever the women always flock around you when you're injured." Chrom wanted to retort that they were only looking out for him because he was their captain but he wanted to revel in the moment knowing Robin felt jealousy too.

Things were calm again after that until Vaike and Sully were arguing in the middle of camp. Sully was covered in pudding and fuming and Vaike seemed riled up himself, Robin was in the middle trying to meditate again.

"Well, this wouldn't have happened if you had just kept your horse outta the way. I wasn't even tryin' to look at you, I mean who wants to spy on a man-woman anyways."

"Give up on him Robin, this big idiot will stay a big idiot until he dies, he will never learn his lesson," Sully spat at Vaike.

"Now come on,Vaike did reflect and empathize with being humiliated and he was sorry for it," Robin explained to Sully and then turned to Vaike, "Vaike, you know that this is going too far, just apologize to Sully and we can call it a day, deal?"

Vaike rolled his eyes, "gosh Robin, do you always gotta be the goody-two-shoes." Robin blushed at that. "You always act like you understand what everyone's thinkin', even an idiot like me finds it annoyin'." Chrom was surprised that comment came out of Vaike's mouth, that idiot never did know when to shut his mouth.

What surprised him even more, and everyone around them including Vaike, was when Robin socked Vaike in the face. Robin stood huffing her face red, "don't try playing innocent with me, Vaike. That won't work on me, I know you know what you say hurts people." Robin then turned to Sully, "he's not a complete idiot, he understands that many of you guys see him as nothing but a big walking piece of muscle so instead of showing that it hurts him, he goes along with it and makes those stupid passive aggressive comments." Robin calmed down a little and took a big breath before continuing, "he's actually a softy underneath all that muscle but since all you guys tease him and see him as a muscle head he acts the way you guys see him." Everyone was quite for a while when Olivia of all people cleared her throat.

"Um, what Robin said was true, I was a little afraid of Vaike because he was so energetic before but he is truly kind. He saved me from falling of a cliff once and told me to stop apologizing so much... Well the stop apologizing might have sounded kind of bossy but he wasn't and- never mind," Olivia began getting nervous under all the attention and backed into the crowd.

Others began chipping in on their own anecdotes with Vaike and the tension slowly dissipated.

Vaike faced Sully and apologized, "Robin was right, I knew I went to far and I shoulda just apologized. And I just wanted to say I'm sorry Sully, you know I respect ya."

Sully smiled and pulled him into a headlock, "yeah I know you dork, I kinda said some mean things too, huh?"

They joked around a little when Vaike spotted Robin smiling at the scene. He walked up to her nervously scratching the back of his head. "I wanna apologize to you too Robin I know you was just tryin' to help Teach out and I shouldn't have said those things to you."

"I know," Robin smiled, "but I'm not going to apologize for punching you, you deserved it."

Vaike chuckled and lifted her up in her arms. "Robin, you are truly one of a kind! You know, you looked kinda hot when you punched me. Makes me wanna steal you from Chrom myself!"

"Okay," Chrom interrupted lifting Robin out of Vaike's arms, "enough joking around."

"You afraid I'm gonna steal your girl," Vaike teased.

Chrom smirked back at him, "you would never win a fight against me if she was on the line."

Vaike believed him because if Robin was his, he knew he would never let her go either. He remembered the night when Robin asked about his and Chrom's childhood and how Chrom became his eternal rival. He told her about how he always thought Chrom was just a prissy little prince but was pleasantly surprised when Chrom showed him he was a fighter. People thought he joined after being inspired by Emmeryn but it was because of Chrom. People in his village always thought he was a little thug even when he went around beating up the town bullies but when Chrom when around doing it, he was deemed the hero. Their classes made them different, but whenever he spent time with Chrom he felt like they were just two guys hanging out, two equals.

"You know he thinks the same thing about you," Robin had smiled at him. "You make him feel like a normal guy, you have never seen Chrom as a royal just another guy, another rival. And even though he doesn't show it he sees you as his rival too, everyone thinks he doesn't gloat but you should see the smile he gets when he beats you."

"When has he beat me," Vaike had teased but he was truly glad to hear that Chrom had thought so highly of him. Robin knew that it made him happy to know it and also knew that she was just humoring him when he was gloating about himself but it still made him happy that she would go through all that effort for him. He knew he could be obnoxious at times but Robin would give him that cute little smile and roll her eyes and give into his crazy antics.

He laughed as he saw Chrom pouting, as Robin asked to be let down.

"Why, you always let Vaike carry you around?" It was truly amusing to see Chrom jealous.

"At least he understands hot it feels to be jealous too," Vaike smiled looking at how Robin's eyes sparkled when she looked at Chrom.

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**Phew! This was a pretty long chapter, hope it makes up for the wait. lol, jk I'm still not completely happy with this chapter because I don't think I portrayed the character well enough. I feel like deep deeeeeep down Vaike has low self esteem and uses the big muscles to cover that but he's a nice guy as you guys can see in his supports. It's almost like I'm trying to convince people who don't like the characters to like them in these chapters LOL but seriously I like all the characters and think if people truly empathized with the characters everyone of them is likeable but everyone is entitled to their opinions! :) Sorry there wasn't a lot of Chrom jealousy in this chapter, mostly just Vaike(LOL ironic) But thanks for all of your support with this story, even through my lengthy and random updates. And super thanks to those who take the time to rot their brains reading all my author's notes. I would like to say I'll update faster and at least get you another chapter out since I'm on winter break now but no promises lol As negative as that last note is I hope you continue to support this story! Thank you all and hope you have a great holiday! -DBSKLOVER**


	6. Chapter 6: Kellam

**Hey guys, sorry I take forever updating, I am extremely lazy and I applaud the amazing amount of patience you guys have while waiting for an update LOL I'd also like to take this time to thank everyone who take the time to read these little daydreams I write (especially if you read this author's note lol) and I want you guys to know I read and appreciate every single review. I know this isn't a place to rant on my little pet peeves but I read some other stories (not in this fandom) where the author holds their stories for ransom until they get x number of reviews or until they get reviews that are more than "nice story" or a certain length and it doesn't seem to bother the other readers as much but I feel that posting stories should be something you should just do if you really like writing or story telling not to gain reviews and if someone says they need reviews for self esteem then why not look at their traffic stats and the length of the review shouldn't matter. I think that they should appreciate all those who take time to review because personally even if I really like a story I am just too lazy to review (but I support the story mentally and traffic stats). Those stories were kinda the final push for me to come back on to publish this chapter, so I thank all and every one of you for reading! I appreciate all the reviews and those who don't review I can feel your support through the traffic stats and I promise I will NEVER hold any of my stories for ransom (though it doesn't really matter considering how slow I update...)**

**Sorry that was a long rant and thinking about it I feel worse that I did it during the author's note for Kellam's chapter... I like Kellam though and always try to look for him in fanarts just to see if people forget him LOL I also like him because he kinda reminds me of Kuroko from Kuroko no Basket because he has no presence either LOL**

**-DBSKLOVER**

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**Kellam**

"I'm back! And I've brought sweets from town!" A swarm of young boys swarmed their haggard father waiting for their sweet. Kellam waited at the end of the line excitedly. Their father didn't go to town often and being farmers they didn't have a lot of extra pocket money to spend but he would always bring back something delicious for his boys. Before Kellam could reach his father for his treat he saw his father wipe his hands on his pant legs. "There, enjoy boys!" Kellam looked around and saw that all of his brothers had gotten some of the sweets and that he was the only one forgotten. Again. Being the third son out of six boys that often happened to him, especially since he naturally had a low presence.

"Dad, you forgot me," Kellam tugged at the elbow of his dad's sleeve.

"Sorry Kellam, I'll get something special for you next time," his father apologized tiredly, "there's a lot of you guys and I forget to bring one or two extra at times."

"That's what you said last time," Kellam complained. It was true that his father forgot to bring home one or two things sometimes but because of his low presence he was always the one getting nothing.

Kellam's mother jumped in his father's defense seeing how tired he looked, "Kellam it was an honest mistake, just ask one of your brothers to share with you."

"No! I wanted my own! It's always me who gets forgotten!" Kellam was sick of always being forgotten and he had been waiting excitedly all day for the treat.

"Well there's nothing that can be done about it now," their mother sighed, "now can you just help me set up dinner?"

Kellam was furious, they forgot him and now wanted him to work, "do it yourselves." He stormed towards the door. As he was heading towards the door one of the younger brothers, who was oblivious to the tension in the air, ran by with a twig sword that Kellam had found. During his frustration he yanked the twig out of his younger brother's hands, it was his anyways.

The younger brother was surprised at first but began crying when he realized what Kellam had did. "Kellam!" Kellam's mother scolded but he ignored her and continued out the door.

"Leave him be," Kellam's father waved at his wife, "let him blow off some steam and he can come back when he realizes what he did wrong."

Kellam sat a little out back of the household drawing in the dirt with a twig. He was still a little angry when it came time for dinner so he didn't apologize and his parents weren't willing to talk to him until he apologized for his rash behavior so they all ate in an awkward silence. The first time he was actually consciously being noticed and it was so they could ignore him. By the time he went to bed he was starting to feel guilty about his behavior.

The next day he was thinking about how to apologize to his parents and was approaching his mother as she was setting up the plates for breakfast. He was about to call out to her when he saw that there were only seven plates set out. His stomach sunk at the thought his mother was still ignoring him and couldn't find the courage to call out to her and apologize. The truth of the matter was she and the rest of the family forgot the incident already, she only left out Kellam's plate because it was one of times where she was so busy she accidentally forgot his plate. Kellam silently got his own plate and began eating breakfast silently and tried to make himself less visible thinking his whole family was still mad at him. Because he didn't correct her his mother forgot his plate for lunch and dinner too. Kellam refused to approach his family and because of that they continued on their days not even knowing they were forgetting a member.

The eldest only noticed him because being the two biggest it was their job to gather wood to bring home. When they were finished cutting the wood and were on their way carrying it home Kellam decided to take the time to apologize to his eldest brother. He was always a kind understanding older brother. "Um, I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Kellam mumbled barely loud enough for his older brother to hear.

"Huh," his older brother said confusedly, he had forgotten the incident long ago like the rest of the family. He looked around to see what Kellam was apologizing for and saw that Kellam was holding the smaller stack of wood and thought he was apologizing for that. "Don't worry about it," he laughed, "but if you really feel bad about it hold some of these." He stacked a couple pieces of wood from his pile onto Kellam's and continued walking. Relief flooded Kellam and from then on he would only reach out to his oldest brother, he still walked on eggshells around his family not really noticing it only made it harder for them to notice him and resolve the problem once and for all.

"You're joining the army," Kellam's eldest brother asked with wide eyes. He was already married and had moved into a new home with his newly wed wife but still came to visit Kellam and his family from time to time.

"Yeah, I'm big and and hard to detect, I think I can be more useful in the army."

"Did you tell Mom and Pop?"

Kellam looked at his boots, "they wouldn't really care."

"What do you mean, of course they care, they're your parents." Kellam still continued to look at his feet and his brother sighed before continuing, "no matter what you think they are mad at they will still care that their son is leaving to join the military."

"..."

Kellam's brother had to get back to his new wife before it was dark so before he left he made Kellam promise to at least write to him and the family. Kellam left for the army without informing his family but still wrote to them as he had promised his brother. Life in the army wasn't much different from life at home, he was rarely noticed in the army but not wanting to repeat the problems with his family he tried to do little things for the other soldier even if they didn't know that he was actually doing anything for them.

His actions got the attentions of the armies tactician, Robin. She had first heard about him through rumors of a ghost going around filling up cups. Though she didn't realize him at first like everyone else she surprised him when she made a conscious decision to try to notice him.

"Found you," Kellam heard a female voice call out as he felt a tug on his arm. He looked down to see Robin clinging to his arm smiling triumphantly. Whenever she caught him she would point out the current rumor of "paranormal activity" and ask if it was him and he would confirm if it was. At first he found the extra attention a bit uncomfortable but after a while he would smile when he felt someone tugging on his arm and congratulate Robin for finding him.

"Congratulations again, this is the third time today, a new record."

"I know, I'm getting better at this," Robin smiled proudly.

They heard a coughing sound and looked up to see Chrom had come to join them. "I didn't see you there," Chrom smiled, "again." On the inside he wasn't smiling. He was there all three times Robin had run off in the middle of their conversations when she spotted the raven haired man. This didn't bother Chrom in the beginning when Robin began looking for Kellam but after a while there were times when she ignored him just because she spotted the elusive man. Sure Kellam was a good soldier and Chrom felt Kellam deserved all the recognition he deserved but Robin was actually beginning to enjoy looking for Kellam and racing to show the man that she noticed him. Robin wasn't ever that enthusiastic whenever she spotted Chrom and he was her husband. What was worse was Chrom could never tell when Kellam was around no matter how alert he felt he was, Robin always seemed to spot Kellam first. How was he supposed to try to keep his wife away from a man when he couldn't even find the man himself?

Chrom decided to enlist the help of the rest of his Shepherds to keep an eye on Kellam's whereabouts. He was a little glad to see that he wasn't the only one having difficulties spotting such a large man. Then came the faithful day when Chrom spotted Kellam before Robin. While he and Robin were walking side by side he spotted Kellam and was so proud he pointed and screamed out "HA!" startling both Kellam and Robin.

"Darn it," Robin snapped her finger frustrated that someone had beat her to finding Kellam. Though he wasn't as good as Robin, Chrom steadily became better at spotting Kellam too. It became almost a competition between the couple to see who could spot the dark haired knight first. The "competition" slowly spread its way around the camp when the Shepherd's that Chrom had asked to keep an eye on Kellam found it a personal mission when they found how hard it was to keep an eye on him decided to see if they could find him first.

"Found you!" Robin called out triumphantly grabbing hold of Kellam's arm and a collective groan could be heard around camp. At first the fact that people were randomly calling out excitedly when they caught him refilling a cup made him feel awkward but after a while he actually found it amusing. Some of them would sling an arm around his neck taunting the others as if he had actually helped them find him and some would get excited when he would congratulate them. Finding him almost became something of a game through the camp and he was glad he was able to relieve some of the stress of war. They all laughed as Chrom half-jokingly claimed he had cheated and made it easier for Robin to see him. He didn't give a handicap to anyone but besides Nowi and Panne with their extra sixth sense Robin was still one of the best at finding him. Looking around at all the smiling faces around him, that actually noticed him from time to time, made him glad he chose to join the army. Smiling to himself he decided that it was time he worked things out with his family. He wrote a letter home apologizing for what he did hoping that they accepted his apology and promising that he would try to make them proud as a knight.

After the second war Kellam was relieved that the war was over but Robin's sacrifice left a heavy feeling in Kellam's chest. After her disappearance he purposely went about trying not to be noticed by those around him. The only one who ever managed to notice him when he went around trying not to be noticed was Robin and all the way back home he had hoped he'd feel a tug on his arm and look down to see the smiling tactician. He didn't feel a tug on his arm but he did feel arms circling him and looked up to see that it was his parents.

His mother held his face, tears in her eyes. "Our little war hero! Your father and I are so sorry we never noticed that an incident so small, so long ago could have affected you so much."

"And that you left for the army until after we received your first letter," his father said earning and elbow in the gut from his mother.

She turned back and looked him in the eye, "we may not be the best parents but we will always love and support you and if something is bothering you please talk to us. We may get mad at each other but we will always forgive one another, if we have any problems let's try out best to work it out together."

Kellam found he was beginning to tear up himself and held both his parents in his arms before he let his tears out. They were shortly interrupted when Kellam's many brothers piled into the hug to welcome their brother home.

About a year later Kellam was helping his father in the market in the castle when he heard an uproar in the crowd. He walked towards the excitement suddenly finding himself feeling excited himself for some reason despite not knowing what the commotion was about. He overheard a single voice scream above the murmur of the crowd and his heart almost stopped beating. "THE QUEEN ROBIN HAS BEEN FOUND! SHE IS BACK!"

He only stopped momentarily before rushing into the crowd hoping to spot Robin. He didn't even feel the elbows bumping into him or the surprised screams as they felt an unknown presence bump into them, they were all drowned out by the sound of his own heart beating in his ears. The every face looked collectively indistinguishable except when he spotted the one face sharing a horse with Chrom. When her eyes scanned past the part of the crowd where he was he saw the light of recognition in her eyes when she saw him. Kellam almost felt like this was all just a cruel dream but the feeling of his heart trying to beat out of his chest told him that this was all real. She smiled and waved at him and he felt the warm feeling, that only appeared when Robin noticed him, flood back through his body. He wondered to himself if Chrom felt like this when Robin smiled at him?

Robin turned back to Chrom and tapped on his chest and he immediately gave his wife his full attention. Kellam saw her lips move and saw her point in his direction and when he made eye contact with Kellam he smiled and waved. Kellam would never say it out loud but he had always felt the jealous husband vibe radiating of Chrom but now looking at Chrom's smile he knew that the Exalt was just glad to have his soulmate home. The crowd in front of him exploded in excitement thinking the royal couple was waving at them. Kellam felt a little pride beginning to fill in his chest, he knew that he was the one that Robin and Chrom was waving at, though his presence might not be noticed by a lot of people two of the greatest powers in Ylisse were able to spot him in a packed crowd. He smiled genuinely felt that he had a good life.

* * *

**I kind of changed up the ending because I felt that it was too sad that he was forgotten in every ending besides the one with Robin so I made him a happier ending, even though it did end in an unrequited love... He's happy though! Even though Kellam said his family ignored him his entire life just because he was mean and didn't like to share I don't believe it, no family can be that cruel (that mental damage!)and over something so small, I mean he was just a kid! All kids hate to share! I felt like Kellam was from a big family even before I researched on the fact that he did because it would make more sense that a child got used to being forgotten because his parents were busy and had trouble keeping track of things for all their children and I kind of incorporated that into this chapter. I feel that Kellam always had a low presence and just misunderstood the situation (like kids often do). I feel bad that he beat himself up about this for so long and hope people can show this gentle giant some love.**

**Thank you for reading again, until next time!**

**-DBSKLOVER**


	7. Chapter 7: Lon'qu

**I'm back again! My update schedule is so random lol I would say I'd try to update at least once a month but setting a schedule makes me even more lazy... So this chapter is Lon'qu! I really wanted to start on his chapter as soon as possible but I was also really hesitant at the same time. The main reason being that he's one of my favorite guys, I know I say that about most of the guys but I mean it! Personally Lon'qu is my type of guy and would marry him out of all the Shepherds but I always end up marrying Robin to Chrom because they fit each other better (and I can't bear to break up the precious royal family). I mean who doesn't love Lon'qu he acts all cold but we all know he's a softy. I will never get over how he just accepted he was going to sleep in the stables when Nowi was yelling at him when they were playing house LOL He is seriously one of the most precious FE:A character ever.**

**-DBSKLOVER**

* * *

**Lon'qu**

Lon'gu had no memories of his parents, neither did most of the children around him. The earliest memories Lon'qu could remember is fighting for survival, taking down his opponent in order to survive. Often older children would offer him a few coins to fight another child around his age, it was one of the few spectacles that the inhabitants of the slums enjoyed and people would often place a pot on who the winner would be. The children would throw themselves into a fight full-heartedly because while others saw it as an entertaining show they saw it as a chance to possibly survive a little longer. The winner would get a few coins from the person that instigated their fight and sometimes a few coins from the pot while the losers often times were left on the ground and the rest of the crowd would join in on abusing them and humiliating them further. Lon'qu was a favorite contender in these fights, he never lost and was easy to work with. They would offer him a few coins, he fights, wins, and leaves with his coins, no questions asked.

It was a day like any other, Lon'qu was put in a fight won and received his coins.

"Please! Help me!" Lon'qu turned around to see the boy he had just fought calling out to him for help. It was just like any other day, the crowd that had came around to watch were now gathering around him to abuse him and humiliate the boy further. Lon'qu no longer felt anything as he saw someone kick the boy and another spit on him laughing, this was a normal occurrence in the slums. Many of the kids in the slums were orphans and had no one but themselves to survive. Few actually made it into adulthood, everyone who lived in the slums lived by an unwritten rule. The strong live, the weak die.

As he was walking through the streets of the slums a single person in the crowd stood out to him. It was just a young girl, but what caught Lon'qu's eye was the curious look in her eyes as she walked around and the fact that she was a lot cleaner than most people found in the slums. She was so busy looking around to see that she was heading right into a person right in front of her. He didn't understand why but his body twitched as if getting ready to warn her, but it was too late she ran right into the back of the person in front of her. "Oh, look what we have here," the boy said and Lon'qu flinched recognizing who the boy was. He was one of the older boys who often hired him to fight. "What's a pretty little city girl like you doing in the slums," the teen smirked moving in closer to the girl. She physically moved back looking nervous, and the other kids that were with the older boy began laughing. She opened her mouth as if to reply but no sound came out of her mouth, this lead to another wave of laughter from the gang. The older teen gave her a look from head to toe before he began moving closer to her again, "you're kinda pretty, y'know that? How would you like to make a few coins?"

Lon'qu knew what the teen was implying and before he knew what he was doing he was standing in between the city girl and the teen. "Leave her alone." Lon'qu glared the teen down. He knew that the boy was a lot older than him and that there were other older teens around them too but Lon'qu wasn't scared. He was the only one out of all of them who hadn't faced defeat. Which is why they hired him to earn them money.

"Oh, well who do we have here," the teenager's eyes widened in amusement, "our little Lon'qu! Is this your little girlfriend?"

"Shut up," Lon'qu hissed and the boys ooh'd sarcastically. "Follow me," he turned to the girl and ordered, taking her wrist to make sure she wasn't too frozen in fear to actually hear him. The boys ooh'd and aah'd the young couple as they left the area.

"Make sure to keep your little princess safe, Lon'qu," the older teen called out to Lon'qu before joining the others in laughter.

After getting them out of the more dangerous part of the slums Lon'qu turned around to scold the girl but when he opened his mouth to yell he saw her flinch back in fear. He took a look at her and realized the older boys were right, she was pretty. He blushed and when the words came out of his mouth, they were quieter than he planned, "what's a city girl like you doing in the slums?"

"I-I live in the city near the border of the slums and I got curious," the girl answered quietly.

Lon'qu snorted. "Why would anyone who lives in the city be curious of the slums."

The girl pouted looking slightly annoyed. "I wanted to see how different the slums were."

"Pretty different huh," Lon'qu smirked.

"It's a little scary but it's pretty interesting compared to the boring city."

Lon'qu gasped. "What do you mean boring compared to the city, the greatest swordsmen in Chon'sin reside in the city," Lon'qu argued with eyes shinning in excitement. Swordsmen were greatly respected in the slums mostly because the only way to really escape the life in the slums was to become a swordsman, and only the most powerful were able to leave the slums and experience the grandeur that was city life. Lon'qu didn't really care much about the city, he was able to take himself well enough in the slums, what really interested him the most were the swordsmen. He had seen some of them when they came back to the slums once in a while and he had actually seen one unsheathe his blade when a drunk man had attacked him but before Lon'qu and most of the spectators could comprehend what happened the swordsman was already behind the drunk flicking his blade clean and the drunken man seemed to have dropped to the ground out of no where. Lon'qu had thought he was quite the swordsman himself before but after he had saw what a true swordsman could do it was what he aimed to be.

The girl rolled her eyes of course, _everyone _always talked about how amazing and respectable the swordsmen of the city were, but she saw them regularly and the excitement wore of soon. "How about I come by again and tell you stories of the swordsmen in the city and tell you about their training and in return you show me around the slums."

Lon'qu felt his heartbeat race in excitement. "You can do that?"

"Yeah sometimes some of them train in the tranquil garden near my home."

"Fine, I'll show you around but you still have to show me their training routines even if you find the things I show you boring," Lon'qu bargained.

"Deal," the girl smiled extending her hand out to seal the deal.

Lon'qu took her hand and was surprised at how soft they were, he had never touched a girl before and all the men and boys around him had calloused hands from sword handling and fighting. He didn't know why but he felt his cheeks begin to flush.

"My name is Ke'ri," she smiled at him and he felt his cheeks getting warmer.

"My name is Lon'qu."

"How did that move go again," Lon'qu asked over his shoulder as he swung his bamboo sword forward. "Am I doing it the way you saw them do it?"

Ke'ri sighed from her spot under the tree, "yes, you're doing perfect, can we do something else now."

"You weren't even looking," Lon'qu turned back to her frowning, you have to hold to your end of the deal today we are training." Lon'qu and Ke'ri had established a routine with each other they would meet almost daily and Lon'qu would take her around the slums one day, the next day they would stay near Ke'ri's home and she would help Lon'qu practice the moves that she observed the swordsmen near her home practicing.

Ke'ri flopped onto the grass groaning, "I don't need to look Lon'qu you always execute the moves exactly like they do."

"Really?" The soft voice from Lon'qu perked her interest and when she sat up Ke'ri saw that there was a light blush on Lon'qu's face.

This made her smile. "Yes, you will surely be the best swordsman in all of Chon'sin one day."

"Of course, I am currently the only one undefeated in the slums," Lon'qu smirked but the blush was still present on his face. "Watch, I will soon be moving to the city to join the other swordsmen and you'll have to find another tour guide to take you to the slums."

Ke'ri stood up and brushed of her dress as she walked towards Lon'qu, "well I wouldn't need to go to the slums anymore once you're here in the city with me, silly. Now let's eat, I snuck a lot of sweets today."

"What?" The young swordsman's eyes widened as red consumed his face.

The young girl just smiled gently at the blushing boy, "hey Lon'qu once you become a swordsman you have to be my personal bodyguard for life, okay?" Lon'qu was too flustered to fully articulate his words and when he finally got his words back all he could say was "stupid".

Lon'qu was rushing to their meeting spot, Ke'ri would be upset but he was so excited! He had found the beetle that he had been telling Ke'ri about, it was his lucky day! He was anticipating Ke'ri's reaction when he heard loud yelling from ahead, from their meeting spot. He felt extremely uneasy about the noises and rushed towards Ke'ri even leaving the beetle behind. As he got closer he heard that the voices were familiar and hurried his pace even more.

"What are you guys doing here?!" Lon'qu growled when he saw them picking through the picnic basket Ke'ri packed for themselves. They were the teens that were there when Lon'qu had met Ke'ri for the first time.

"Ah, you're a little late Lon'qu," said the older teen boy that was there that day and he was gripping Ke'ri's wrist in his hand. He shoved her off to one of the other boys, "make sure you don't damage her, she's grown quite pretty and she won't earn much scarred." He walked up to Lon'qu a devious smirk on his face, "thanks for leading us to this little gold mine, we'll be eating good for a while and if you're good we'll give you a share too, city girls fetch a fair price in the slums you know."

"Let her go," Lon'qu spat unsheathing his bamboo blade.

"Tsk Tsk, oh Lon'qu, I thought you were smarter than to try that stupid noble shit, hey boys little Lon'qu wants to fight," the older teen called out to the other boys. They all began to gather and laugh. Lon'qu stared at their leader unfazed, he had beaten them all before, he could do it again.

"No," Ke'ri screamed, "run away Lon'qu!" Lon'qu ignored her screams, he would protect her like he promised. One of the boys lunged at him and he blocked it with ease as he normally did. When the next guy lunged at him at the same time he was surprised but still managed to block him but before he could react Lon'qu was struck from behind. They were all gaining up on him, this wasn't a one-on-one fight like he usually fought and even though he was a better swordsman than all of them they brought him down by sheer amount and strength. When they got him on the ground they began kicking and taunting him like they did to those who lost in fights. "Stop it! Let him go!" Ke'ri kept screaming and moving towards Lon'qu.

"Shut up," the boy holding her was getting annoyed and finding it harder and harder to constrain her.

"Lon'qu! She called out to him and Lon'qu looked up from his spot on the ground and saw that she was straining with all her might towards him. "Lon'qu!" She kept calling out to him with tears in her eyes, she was afraid both for herself and him but she would not obey the boy when he told her to shut up. "LON'QU!"

"SHUT UP!" The boy holding her flew into a fit of rage and pulled out a blade and slit her throat right then and there.

Ke'ri's eyes went wide and Lon'qu's name was the last thing she mouthed before the boy dropped her in fright.

"LON'QU!"

Lon'qu's eyes shot open and he grabbed the arm extended in front of him. He was still breathing heavy as he looked around trying to take in his surrounding. He was in his tent, it was just a dream, no a horrible memory. The boys had panicked and ran, they weren't planning to kill anyone, the neighbors that had come because they heard the screaming found a beaten Lon'qu crying by Ke'ri's body. Ke'ri's father had pulled her her out of Lon'qu's grip and slapped him screaming. The neighbors held him back yelling at Lon'qu to run and he numbly listened to them. He could still recall the feeling of Ke'ri's soft but oh so cold skin just from the memory.

Then he remembered the soft warm arm still within his grip. He looked at the hand and instead of a blade he saw a fig, he followed the arm up to the holder's face and saw that it was Robin. "Lon'qu, are you okay?" She had been the one to wake him up. Robin's eyes scanned Lon'qu's face worriedly.

It took him half a second to realize he was holding onto Robin's arm and he snapped his grip back. "What in the world, Robin?! What are you doing in my tent, again?!"

Robin's look of concern turned into a sheepish grin as she hid the fig in her hand behind her back, "You know what they say, if it isn't broken don't fix it."

Lon'qu looked outside of the flaps of the tent and then back to Robin. "Do you realize what time it is? Shouldn't you be in bed, your OWN bed?" Lon'qu didn't want even think about what her husband would think of this. Chrom hadn't voiced it but Lon'qu knew the Exalt didn't like how much Robin followed him around. Especially since trying to get as close to him as possible was one of Robin's techniques to cure him of his gynophobia.

Robin seemed to ignored Lon'qu's question observing him sitting in his bed and asked one of her own, "Lon'qu do you still carry any Chon'sin traditions?"

Lon'qu was slightly thrown off by her question and answered cautiously, "some, yes..."

"Then do you use wrapping cloth as your smallclothes, too?"

"What kind of question is that?!" Lon'qu tried to glare at Robin through his blush.

"Yes, what kind of question is that," Chrom entered the tent questioning his wife.

Robin sighed and explained to them both, "I was talking about Chon'sin culture with Say'ri and I wondered if Chon'sin males used cloth too."

"Yes, but it is still inappropriate for a woman to just ask a man about his smallclothes. Besides if you're so interested in culture why don't you ask me about Ylissian culture?"

"Lon'qu is a friend and the only male from Chon'sin that I can talk to, and please Chrom, I probably know more about Ylissian culture than you do and we are married with a child and are planned to have another in the future so I think I already know a thing or two about Ylissian smallclothes."

Both Lon'qu and Chrom blushed at the last comment.

"You think you know more about Ylisse than I do?" Chrom crossed his arm and challenged her trying to change the subject.

"Yes because after we got married I asked Frederick for all the books on Ylissian culture," Robin crossed her arms not backing down from the challenge.

"Oh," Chrom uncrossed his arms, "why did you do that?"

"Because," Robin took his hands in hers, "If I was going to rule by your side I wanted to make sure I was doing my best."

Chrom didn't respond but he squeezed her hands a blush and pleased smile on his face.

"Ahem," Lon'qu coughed making the couple realize they were having a moment in his tent.

"Yes, very sorry Lon'qu. Robin and I will head back to our tent now," Chrom smiled scratching the back of his head, as he lead his wife out the tent embarrassed.

"Good night Lon'qu," Robin waved at Lon'qu before turning to smile at her embarrassed husband.

Lon'qu slouched back in his bed with a sigh, he didn't understand how Chrom could be jealous of him when the two of them were so obviously annoyingly in love with one another.

Lon'qu woke up the next day still feeling drained from previous night. He went to warm up at the training ground in hopes of waking himself up a little more. He was in the middle of cracking his neck when he saw something in the corner of his eye.

Robin had just woken up when she saw Lon'qu heading towards the training grounds and decided that it was the perfect opportunity to sneak up on him. She slowly followed him towards the training grounds to see him crouched over observing something in his palms.

Robin got closer, but made sure she gave him his "ample" space before she called out to him. "What are you looking at Lon'qu?"

Lon'qu was so excited at what was in his hands he didn't bother to growl at Robin to keep her space and extended his hands to show her, "I've managed to find a beet-""

"GGWWAAAHH!" Lon'qu looked up surprised at the sound that had came out of Robin's mouth. He also saw that this time it was her who put a great distance between them.

"W-why are you holding that thing?!"

"They are called beetles."

"I know what they're called, I'm asking why your holding one," Robin huffed frustratedly. Lon'qu was intrigued, this was the most flustered he had ever seen Robin, He extended his hands holding the beetle and Robin flinched back much like how he did whenever a woman approached. "Stop," Robin warned him but he ignored her and extended his arms once again, "AAAUUUGGHH!" With that last scream she ran from the training ground without looking back. Lon'qu stood there looking at her retreating back and smiled to himself. He had finally found something that would give him the upper hand.

A few days later when the bug incident was forgotten Robin spotted Lon'qu walking around camp and called out to him. "Hey Lon'q-" she stopped mid-run when she saw him exxtend clasped hands in her direction.

"Stay back, I have a beetle in my hands and I'm not afraid to use it, "he was bluffing but if it could keep the annoying woman at a distance then he would try it.

Robin gave him a hesitant look, "you're lying."

"Am I? This beetle in my hands can fly, do you really want to risk it?"

"Is this a challenge," Robin questioned with a glint in her eyes, "because I could always just pelt you with fruits again and you're hands are quite occupied at the moment."

"Oh I just let it go," Lon'qu unclasped his hands and Robin looked around frantically for the bug.

"Where did it go?!" Lon'qu smirked as he watched Robin twirl around looking high and low for a bug that wasn't there. He didn't know whether to be amused or terrified that a simple bug could do this to their genius tactician. He decided to enjoy the sweet revenge for now.

"It's on your back."

"AAUUUGGHH!"

"WHA?!" One moment Lon'qu saw Robin screaming the next thing he knew she was burying her head into his chest and they were both on the ground. In her panic Robin had tackled Lon'qu into the ground.

Lon'qu was to embarrassed to say anything and Robin was still too panicked to notice their situation. "Get it off, get it off," she chanted into his chest.

"What's going on here?" Lon'qu flinched when he recognized the deep voice. He looked up to see the annoyed face of Chrom.

"T-there was a beetle," Robin responded weakly still sitting in Lon'qu's lap checking if the coast was clear.

"Honestly," Chrom sighed pulling Robin out of Lon'qu's lap, "this is why our children are afraid of the tiniest cockroach." Robin didn't notice but as Chrom pulled her into a standing position he also positioned himself so that he was blocking Lon'qu from her sight, Lon'qu noticed.

"They had every right to be afraid," Robin defended her children, "that cockroach could fly!"

"Oh, the beetle is back!"

"Where?!" Robin leaped into Chrom's arms looking behind her for the offender. Chrom's deep laugh informed her that he had been lying. "Don't do that!" She began pounding on his chest with her fists but he just hugged her close trapping her arms to his chest, still laughing.

Lon'qu huffed and left the lovebirds to themselves, seeing them acting so foolish around each other was beginning to annoy him. He laughed to himself when he remembered Robin's face when he told her that he had let the beetle go. Even though Ke'ri didn't enjoy looking at bugs like he did, she didn't have the crippling fear of them that Robin had. He blushed when he remembered how Robin had clung to him, he knew Robin was a woman but he had never thought of her as feminine until that moment. For someone who was on the battlefield half the time he noticed that Robin was still quite soft and had a light natural floral scent to her, he had also noticed it the time he caught her sneaking into his tent. Lon'qu paused to look at his hand... this was the second time that he and Robin had physical contact... His face was beet red when he realized what he had just thought and rushed towards the training grounds to clear his head. He was in the middle of training when he heard a loud commotion from the middle of camp.

He rushed towards the fray and saw that they had been ambushed by bandits. They looked nothing like the boys from his childhood but he couldn't help the rage he felt when he slashed them down. When he reached a clearing he couldn't help himself as he scanned the area looking for Robin. He heard a flash of thunder and saw breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was Robin. Lon'qu's breath hitched again when Robin realized she had used the last of her tome. While she was momentarily distracted the leader of the group of bandits grabbed Robin placing a blade to her throat. It was happening again.

"Robin!" Chrom voiced what Lon'qu couldn't bring himself to call out.

"Stay back," the bandit called holding the blade closer to her neck. The Shepherds listened, the bandit was unnerved as he could tell he was fighting a loosing battle.

"Stay back, Chrom," Robin said calmly keeping her eyes on her husband. Chrom kept a tight grip on Falchion and kept contact on Robin's eyes the entire time. Lon'qu gripped his own blade, not understanding how Chrom could be so calm. Realizing how important his hostage was the bandit began yelling out his demand, when he was distracted Robin called out, "Vaike!"

Vaike got the message and threw a hand axe at the bandit. The axe hit the bandit head on but as he was falling his blade pressed into Robin's neck. Chrom rushed to Robin side calling out for Lissa. Lon'qu collapsed to his knees a panic attack taking over him. He heard muffled voices calling out to him , he couldn't believe this was happening again. When he finally came to himself again he saw that Basilio was by his side but he couldn't see Robin anywhere.

"Are you okay, Lon'qu," Basilio asked him seeing that the swordsman was still shaken.

"Where's Robin?"

"They took her to the medic tent but-" Basilio couldn't finish his sentence as Lon'qu headed in the direction of the tent.

When he reached the tent he was relieved to see Robin sitting in one of the beds laughing at something Lissa had said. His relief turned into anger, and he rushed to face Robin. "You are not to head into the battlefields anymore."

Robin rolled her eyes. "I told everyone I'm fine. It was only a nick."

"Fine?! Only a nick?! You could have died out there," Lon'qu roared.

Realizing that Lon'qu was angry Robin sobered, "I was fine, Lon'qu. I could have taken the bandit down myself but saw the safer course of acti-"

"Safer course," Lon'qu scoffed, "you got your throat slit!"

"Stop over exaggerating it, his blade brushed my neck as he fell."

"Over exaggerating? Gods! This is why women shouldn't be on the battlefield!"

Lon'qu felt a large slap on the back of his head. He turned around to see it was Basilio. "Calm down boy, the women in this army can handle themselves, if she says she's fine then she's fine." Lon'qu opened his mouth to argue but Basilio's booming voice overpowered him. "Robin isn't _her_, Lon'qu." Basilio looked straight into Lon'qu's eyes as he said the words. Throughout their time together, from when Basilio had found him till now he hadn't known Basilio had any idea about his past with Ke'ri. After his momentary shock he exited the tent looking for the only other person who would understand him.

"Chrom." Lon'qu called out to Chrom who was in the tactics tent planning their next battle. "Take Robin out from the next battles."

Chrom rubbed his face and sighed leaning against the strategy table, "are those Robin's order?"

"No."

"Then I can't do that." Lon'qu got ready to argue but Chrom turned back to the strategy table. "I can't change the plans unless Robin says so herself."

Lon'qu was outraged, he thought at least Robin's own husband would understand where he was coming from. "Fine, then I request that I be partnered with Robin in the next battle." If her own husband wasn't going to protect her, he would.

"That I can do." Chrom said still not looking up from the strategy table. With that Lon'qu left the tent.

Robin rolled her eyes when she saw who she was partnered with during their next battle but didn't say anything. During the whole battle Lon'qu made sure to strike down any enemy that came anywhere near Robin. She had yet to make any strike herself, finally fed up with it she pulled out a tome. As Lon'qu raced forward another enemy a bolt of lightening struck down the enemy before he could. He looked back at Robin who just shrugged innocently at him. For the rest of the battle it Lon'qu didn't even one chance to lift his blade. It began to frustrate Lon'qu because sometimes Robin would even wait until he was close enough to attack before she took out the enemy herself.

By the end of the battle Lon'qu was out of breath, not because of the fighting but by trying to reach the enemy before Robin did.

"I trust her."

"Huh," Lon'qu looked up to see Chrom standing next to him.

Chrom was looking at Robin converse with the rest of their camp. "If I could, I would place Robin in a world where no harm could find or touch her. If it were up to me she would never see any danger, would never have to lift a blade but we don't live in that world. Robin is a great tactician and soldier and it would be of no help to anyone if I just lock her away for her own safety. She also wouldn't be the Robin I love if she just sat around letting me protect her, part of me is hesitant to admit that I like the fact that she can fight by my side. That's why all I can do is trust her and protect her to the best of my ability." With that he patted Lon'qu's shoulder and gave him a little smile before he headed back to camp.

Robin practically skipped up to Lon'qu"So who isn't fit for the battlefield? I'm pretty sure my record on the battlefield today was a lot better yours. "

Lon'qu huffed, "this was a battle of blades, you're magic doesn't count."

Robin laughed, her laughter was contagious and managed to get a smirk out of him. "What battle, we're on the same side, just admit I did better than you," she nudged his side.

He moved away but smirked a little under a his sigh. "Fine you did quite well during this battle. If you were a man we could have been great partners."

'Well, why can't we?" Robin asked innocently.

Lon'qu blushed. "Because you're already partners with Chrom," he mumbled.

"What about me?" Lon'qu felt a hand on his shoulder that obviously belonged to Chrom.

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**Sorry this chapter took forever to upload. At least it's long, right?I feel so biased, I actually wanted to write it longer like on how he and Basilio met and why he looks up to him so much but this chapter was getting long as is. Oh yeah, I'm spending next Friday at Disneyland for my birthday, wooo! Just wanted to say that because I'm so excited and no, no one is too old for Disneyland. Thank you again for reading and being so patient with my horrible updates! Hopefully I'll work on the next chapter during my spring break but no promises because yeah... **

**-DBSKLOVER**


	8. Chapter 8: Ricken

**I'm baaacckkk! After months of being away(lazy). It started with finals all coming up then writers block and I didn't know how to portray Ricken. Especially his age, it's never been identified so I'll just go with 16, and a late bloomer since he has a complex about his height. I also had some guy friends who were pretty short and baby-faced and shot up by the time they were 17 LOL I still don't think this chapter will do him justice but oh well, I have procrastinated long enough. Btw, I'll be at Anime Expo this Saturday, hopefully I can find some Fire Emblem characters. -DBSKLOVER**

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**Ricken**

"Could you guys please stop that," Ricken asked annoyed as the other students threw another paper ball at the back of his head.

"Aww, did we hurt the widdle wizard prodigies feelings," one of the students mocked. The other students roared with laughter. Ricken just huffed and turned back to his book, he couldn't cause trouble. Ricken was at the castle to further his mage studies in hopes to become a great mage to restore his families name. His family had been one of the oldest noble family, close enough to advise the king, but they were too trusting. They invested a large portion of their family wealth into a supporting a program that was to help the impoverished. It had turned out to be a big scam and all their money was lost. The king was not happy with their blunder and their family name suffered from the shame, as Ricken walked around the castle he could hear what the other students whispered about him. The son of former nobles that had lost favor with the king, it made him an easy target.

Ricken just wanted to go through his day peacefully but he had a talent for magic and a brilliant mind for his age that put him in more problems than it was worth sometimes. He was of course the youngest in his advanced magic class and his teachers were always praising his studious mind and urging the others to follow in his footsteps. Ricken often wondered, for such bright mages, how his masters never noticed that every praise was enlarging the target on his head. It was already bad that he was the youngest in the class but Ricken was small even for someone his age.

Ricken was running away from a group of kids when he first met Chrom. He was around seven and running as fast as his little legs could carry him but the other kids were older and much bigger than little Ricken. They had spotted him from across the halls around the castle and called out to him, instinctively he ran and so began the chase. Ricken ended up tripping when he entered the court garden, face first into the dirt. The older kids stood around him laughing as he coughed the dirt out of his lungs. The irritation from the pain and embarrassment he felt lead him to crack, he picked up a chunk of dirt and threw it at the kids around him. "Leave me alone," he screamed through his tears.

The kids didn't take kindly to the bit of dirt on their clothes. "So Little Ricken wants to fight," one of the kids teased but in his eyes was a cruel fury. The kids gathered around kicking him, throwing rocks, and kicking dirt into his face. They only laughed harder when Ricken cried for them to stop. He hated his life, no matter what he did there was a negative result. He resented his magic ability, his intelligence, and in that moment even his family for putting him in this horrible situation in the first place. He was starting to wish he had never been born when he heard a voice disrupt the laughter. He could still remember it to this day, even though it was young he voice was strong, "don't you guys think you should be picking on someone your own size." The group turned to see a young blue haired boy glaring at them, a wooden sword slung over his shoulder.

"Who is that," Ricken heard one of the bullies whisper as he laid on the ground.

"I don't know, probably one of the knight students, we are approaching the knight's side of the castle," another answered him. The one that answered, the one that also seemed to be the leader in the ring of bullies, turned to the new face . "Run along, this is a problem between mages," he tried to shoo the stranger away.

"Doesn't seem like your solving it in a fair way," the blue haired stranger nodded his head at the crumpled Ricken on the ground. He swung his sword around and smirked a mischievous glint in his eyes, "how about I fight all of you on his behalf?"

The group of bullies looked around at each other and scoffed, even though they only knew basic magic there was still five of them and only one of him. Without even warning him they all charged at the young knight. The young boy didn't look surprised he took them down with such precision that Ricken knew that had to be above the level of someone his age, a prodigy such as himself.

"Prince Chrom!" Ricken looked up to see that it was an older brunette that had called out. Ricken's eyes widened when he realized that the blue haired boy that had just saved him was the prince. "Prince Chrom, I advise that you stop doing things like this, it is quite dangerous for your health."

Chrom patted the young teen on the shoulder, "You worry too much Freddy, I can handle a group like them just fine, I know my strengths."

A group of knights jogged over to the scene. "Aww, couldn't you have saved at least one of them for us," a red headed girl groaned when she noticed the excitement was all over.

"Hey you missed one," a blond kid pointed out.

"Vaike no-" Chrom tried to explain to his friends but Ricken didn't hear it. He was too busy panicking, he had more skill in magic than his classmates but he doubted he could take on Prince Chrom or any of his friends if their skill was anywhere near Chrom's. He let out a burst of wind magic enough to put space between him and the knights and to blow enough dirt into the air to hopefully give him time to run away.

Ricken heard them calling out to him but he didn't risk taking time to listen to what they were saying. He dragged his injured body as fast as he could but he knew that the knights would soon catch up, that didn't stop him from trying. When he was far enough away and felt like he couldn't take another breath he realized the group of knights hadn't chased him. He figured they must have thought he was too pathetic to try chasing.

It was one of the worst bullying sessions Ricken ever experienced. He wanted to forget all about it but the memory of the young prince taking down his bullies in his place was a reoccurring memory. It was still unreal to him that Prince Chrom was the one to fight in his place. Even though he was studying in the castle he never thought he'd ever see the prince and doubted that he would ever meet the prince again. For the better he thought, the prince probably just picked a fight with the wizards to show off his swordsmanship, was best he stayed away from people like that Ricken told himself. Unfortunately he had another run in with the prince after another one of his worst bullying sessions.

When he was around ten Ricken was studying in one of the many courtyards in the castle and happened to run into Maribelle. They often spent time together when Ricken's family still had their standings and Maribelle wasted no time trying to catch up with him. He was having a good time recalling memories when he was spotted by his usual bullies.

"A lady such as yourself shouldn't waste your time with a kid like him," the crowd called out to Maribelle.

Maribelle instantly disliked the group the instant she heard how lowly the regarded Ricken. She stood tall and looked down her nose at the group, "I only extend my company to those who are worth my time." Before any of them could respond Maribelle was called off by one of the castle maids saying that Princess Lissa was calling her. "My darling is calling me but we must catch up sometime soon Ricken. I'm sure Lissa would love to meet you, too." Maribelle smiled at Ricken and turned to glare at the bullies before turning her nose up and walking away. Maribelle meant well when she tried to stand up for Ricken but it only served to worsen the situation. The group of bullies didn't take well to being ignored by a court lady in favor for a small wizard like Ricken.

"Let's have a nice chat, Ricken my boy," the leader of group smiled ominously at Ricken. Before he could turn and try to run they had grabbed his collar and were dragging him into the forest. They had covered his mouth when he tried to scream and tossed him onto the ground when they found a clearing. The leader of the group opened his mouth once again to say something when they heard a growl. They all turned around to see they had been surrounded by a pack of wolves. The noise they made dragging Ricken into the woods had attracted their attention. The group of wolves circled the group of boys as if in a hunt. One of the boys whimpered loudly and the wolves began growling. The group of boys began panicking and the wolves were picking up on the fear and circled them with more interest.

"Stop, don't panic, they can sense it," Ricken whispered, what he remembered reading in a book.

Too panicked to think straight, the leader of the bullies kicked Ricken, irritated. "Shut up this is your fault," he spat. Seeing that action the wolves got closer their growls getting louder. The group broke out in full panic, screaming and pushing each other trying to get away from the wolves. Ricken closed his eyes bracing himself from the inevitable attack that was to come. He heard some whimpering but it didn't sound like it came from any of the boys and looked up to see that someone was fighting the wolves off to get to their group.

"Any of you! Do any of you have a fire tome," Chrom called out to the group as the wolves lunged at him. He kept them at bay with a large stick but Ricken could see that he was getting tired, there were scratch marks all over his being. "Any of you!" Chrom's call snapped Ricken out of his trance. When he was dragged into the forest he hadn't been holding any tomes only his notes but he lost those as he struggled to away. Ricken looked around and noticed one of the boys had a thunder tome under his arm. Ricken wondered, irritated, as to why he didn't use it to ward of the wolves earlier but realized it was probably because none of them were really advanced enough to use it for battle. Ricken grabbed it out of the boys hand and prepared himself. He could only get a spark out but hoped it would be enough. Chrom had his arms raised for another swing when he heard thunder hit the end of the stick. The instant it caught fire the wolves scattered. Chrom looked back and saw it was Ricken who lit the stick and smiled. "Nice quick thinking," he praised Ricken. He tried to take a step towards Ricken but his legs gave out. Ricken ran to Chrom's side and draped one of his arms around his shoulder. "Sorry," Chrom apologized embarrassed, "who would have thought my legs would give out now."

Ricken shook his head vigorously, even though Chrom was older than him he was but thirteen. Any thirteen old had every right to act afraid especially after facing a pack of wolves. Ricken tried to support Chrom's weight but was obviously a lot smaller than the prince and called out to the older boys. "Guys, help him."

The bullies still remembered Chrom's face from the last time they saw him and now that they weren't surrounded by wolves their pride didn't let them see Chrom as the boy who saved him but as the boy who beat them all. "He could get himself this far, he should be able to get himself back," the leader said and the others nervously agreed with him. Ricken was angered and opened his mouth to voice his opinions when he was interrupted by another voice.

"Fine, abandon your prince and fellow student but rest assured I remember all your faces and will ensure your families of your decisions." Ricken recognized the older teen as Frederick. The bullies now flustered scrambled to help the prince stand but Frederick stopped them with a glare and proceeded to lift Chrom up by his other arm as they stood behind him awkwardly. "Milord, if you are going to try and get yourself killed I would rather you tell me in advanced," Frederick scolded Chrom as he lifted him up.

Chrom responded with a wince and a smile. "Maribelle wanted me to check up on her childhood friend, she said that she felt uneasy leaving him with that crowd." The boys that followed behind them lowered their heads in shame. "Your name is Ricken right," Chrom asked Ricken. Ricken nodded shyly. "That was some quick thinking back there, you really do have a talent for magic." Ricken blushed half at the compliment and half out of embarrassment, how could he of thought of Chrom as just a show off.

"Thank you, Prince Chrom."

"Just call me Chrom," he smiled at Ricken.

"Can I hang out with you!" Ricken had blurted out as he was caught up in his admiration for Chrom and instantly regretted it the moment the words came out of his mouth. The boys behind them snickered. Of course not, the prince wouldn't want to hang out with a pint sized mage in training.

"Sure."They all stopped to look Chrom.

"Really?"

Chrom chuckled. "Yes really." And that was how Ricken's friendship with Chrom started, or what he considered friendship. Ricken admired Chrom greatly, he represented everything Ricken wanted to be, he was heroic, bold, and benevolent. With a role model like Chrom he would surely find a way to restore his family's name. Ricken ended up following Chrom around like a little duckling it was almost cute, especially when Ricken himself was tailed by actual ducklings from time to time. Chrom didn't know how to do with the young boys admiration so he just allowed him to follow him around. The other students stopped bullying him after he began hanging around Chrom but they did tease him for his idolizing of the prince. But Ricken didn't care, as long as Chrom was fine with it and he could find a way to somehow grow up to be an upstanding person like Chrom he didn't care what anyone else said. Others like Vaike tried to convince him that there were better people to admire other than Chrom but in Ricken's eyes no one was as heroic as Chrom. Chrom always stood tall, a natural leader and people just followed. His eyes were always faced forward towards the future.

That was until Chrom brought an amnesiac tactician into their ranks. Ricken was wary of Robin at first, she brought out a side of Chrom that he'd never seen from the prince. The Chrom that Ricken knew was always confident with himself and assured with his decisions, even if they were hasty sometimes. But the Chrom in front of him kept looking back at the new tactician as he lead her around the castle, looking for her approval. It didn't help Ricken's opinion of her when Chrom took her along to save Maribelle but told him to stay at the castle. Ricken had dutifully stayed by Chrom's side for years but just because she was a couple years older than him Chrom found her more reliable. Of course Ricken couldn't just sit around when he knew he could be of help. He followed after the Shepherds shortly after they left. It happened to be the right choice because he managed to save Maribelle's life. He was mildly annoyed when they were grateful for his help but still thought he should head back. He had the most potential out of all the mages in Ylisse but they always dismissed him for his age. Instead of ordering him to go back Chrom turned to Robin to get her opinion.

"Ricken seemed to have held his own pretty okay, I think we should let him come." Ricken was surprised at her decision and slightly nervous as she studied him head to toe, probably trying to consider how to fit him in future strategies. Chrom accepted her decision and Ricken was torn between disliking her because Chrom trusted her decisions so quickly compared to his and being grateful to her for convincing Chrom to let him stay. When he saw her and Chrom in action he grew to admire her a little, the way she and Chrom fought together was so fluid, almost as if they were two halves of a whole being. His opinion of her also grew when she didn't just put him in the back, she didn't put him in the front line either but she still trusted him enough to let him serve as backup for the front line. It gave him experience to develop his magic and demonstrate it to those who thought he was too fragile for war. He appreciated the opportunity but even though he tried not to show it he felt nervous on every time he stepped on the field. He didn't want to think about how he had to take another life in order to protect those of his fellow Shepherds.

As he sat down to write to his family, he had trouble coming up with what to tell them while keeping away from the topic of battle. He was stuck on what to write them, it had been years since he'd actually seen them. Ever since he started his mage training, he told himself he would only return home when he managed to restore his families name. He began wondering if he was actually making any progress, he thought joining the Shepherds would help him become more noble but he still got that sickening feeling in his gut before every battle. He thought he would get used to it over time but the thought of putting his life on the line and taking lives still left him in a cold sweat. Robin had popped in as he was lost in thought.

She was curious as to why he hadn't written anything. "You've been staring at a blank page for an hour." Ricken blushed, embarrassed that Robin had noticed. He explained to her how he couldn't decide what to write his family. She began throwing out ideas trying to help him, "Tell them about how you dodged one brush with death after the next! Impress them!"

Ricken knew she was trying to joke with him but recalling the memory made him feel sick all over again. He was sure he visibly paled because Robin's smile seemed to falter a little. "Are you insane?! The object is to make them worry about me LESS!" Robin nodded and began moving the jokes towards Risen. He appreciated the topic change, since Risen weren't real people he felt less guilty taking them down. After talking with Robin for a little longer he decided he would hold off on writing home. Even though he didn't manage to write anything home he felt a little better after getting to know Robin a little more, one-on-one. Robin was a very considerate person and focused her attention on a person in such a way that made it easier for a person to open themselves up to her.

He tried to write a letter several times before Robin caught him in the act again, he was a little on edge from the past couple battles and struggling with his writers block. He had killed actual men in the last battle instead of Risen. When Robin came to talk this time, he opened up a little about him and his family and realized it made him feel a little better. Ricken appreciated that Robin the words of comfort but even though she meant well the teasing about dismembering Risen put him back on edge. He tried to let it pass and began writing his letter with Robin still standing there.

"Dear Mom and Dad, I hope you're well," he began his letter.

"Today I saved the life of my beloved, and the field ran red with the blood of my foes!"

"'Today I saved the...' ARRGH! Will you NOT do that?!" Ricken snapped.

"I'm helping," Robin smiled not realizing that Ricken was upset.

"YOU ARE NOT!" By then Robin realized that Ricken wasn't joking around anymore.

But before she could say anything Chrom entered the tent. "What's going on," he had heard the yelling from outside. "Ricken, I don't know what's going on but I don't think yelling at Robin is going to help you solve anything," Chrom defended Robin and giving him a look like an adult scolding a child. Ricken HATED that look and just glared at his feet biting his lip.

"Chrom, could I speak to Ricken alone," he heard Robin ask Chrom softly. He didn't look up but he knew Chrom was giving him a look before he nodded to Robin and left the tent. When Chrom left they stayed quite for a little while before Robin spoke again. "I apologize for teasing you like that I didn't mean to bother you." Ricken began feeling guilty for lashing out at Robin. "But I feel like there's something more going on than just my teasing."

Ricken stayed quiet trying to stop the tears from falling. He didn't want to be seen as a child more than he already was but he was so frustrated with everything. The moment the first tear fell the emotions he felt seemed too much to bear. "I can't do it," he sobbed, "I want to be able to stand nobly on the field like you and Chrom but I can't do it. I am terrified every time I step on the battlefield, I try but I can't!" He was still looking down his vision completely blurred by tears, "I thought I would get used to it over time but I just can't..." It was silent again before he felt arms circling him. Robin had him in a hug but it wasn't a hug of pity a person gave a crying child it was a comrade trying to comfort another.

"I didn't know you were holding these thoughts, I'm sorry." Ricken didn't want an apology but just heaved another sob and cried into her coat. "Ricken, you may not realize this but this shows how much you've grown." Ricken stopped, momentarily confused. "Every one of us is still terrified of going onto the field, even Chrom and I, I guess we were just good at hiding it. Well, you were pretty good at hiding it too. The difference is you were able to accept that fear, a lot of us are too afraid to admit to that fear. Thank you for telling me, and I want to assure you, you aren't alone in all of this. We are all scared but we aren't going in this alone, we Shepherds are not only here to support each other on the battlefield but also mentally as comrades." Ricken cried into Robin's coat a little longer and didn't mention anything after he stopped, she gave him some time alone after that. He had trouble looking Robin in the eye for a little while after that but he began noticing that Robin had began setting up tactics so that the most Ricken had to face was Risen. Ricken didn't assume that she had kept him away from actual soldiers because she felt he was too fragile and young to face "the war" but because she genuinely knew that he didn't want to face another human and was grateful for that. He realized that just going into war wasn't going to help him restore his families name, the number of people he killed wouldn't do anything for his family. Ricken looked at Maribelle and Lissa who spent time in the war healing people and he saw that they were no less noble than any of the other Shepherds. He had an epiphany, what he found noble about the Shepherds and Chrom wasn't in the number of enemies they could take down but in how much they dedicated their individual ability into the mutual cause they believed in.

Ricken was also reminded that Chrom was human too when they had to take separate paths from Exalt Emmeryn. Chrom had lost his spirit to fight and walked around in a daze and required a punch from Sumia to wake him up. It was almost comical to see his idol in such a state of shock after the punch. He received another, darker, reminder that Chrom was only human after the death of Emmeryn. Chrom had an air around him that was similar to when Ricken broke down and it seemed as he gave up fighting all together. Even Robin's plea didn't seem to reach him. Only when they were on the battlefield and his and Robin's lives were on the line before he snapped out of it. Ricken tried to show his support in the only way he could at the time, by putting his all in the fight. Chrom seemed to be spurred on by their support and the Emmeryn's sacrifice and lead them in the fight against Gangrel and to lead them to victory.

Their victory gave him the inspiration to finally write his family. He wrote about what he learned from being part of the Shepherds and that even though he couldn't restore their family name at that moment, he would still continue trying. He told Robin about the letter when he was done, though he left out the fact that he had mentioned her by name when talking about those who helped him mature through the war. He told her it wasn't much when she asked what he wrote about.

"But it IS great news! I'm sure it'll put their minds at ease."

"By telling them how weak I still am?" He chuckled.

"No, by telling them you know your limits and you're working to overcome them. That's a very mature way of thinking," Robin smiled gently at him, "I'm sure they'll be proud."

Ricken blushed at the compliment and rubbed the back of his neck shyly, "Heh hey! You really think so?"

Robin proceeded to reassure him while putting him in a headlock. He admired her smile as she began pinching his cheeks and calling him cute. Though he still hated how she teased him as if he was a kid but appreciated how she could still see his potential as a soldier on the field. Ricken was grateful that Chrom found Robin in that field and took her in. He was in the middle of realizing his admiration for Chrom and Robin were a little different when he heard someone clear their throat.

He turned around to see Chrom staring at them, more like glaring at him. Ricken wouldn't actually go so far as to say that Chrom was glaring at him but did seem to get more distant around Ricken whenever he spotted Robin teasing him. "May I speak to Robin alone for a moment," Chrom asked Ricken all of a sudden a little more bashful.

Robin bid Ricken goodbye and followed Chrom and Ricken went to pack his things. A couple minutes later he heard the camp in an uproar. He rushed out to see what the problem was but Lissa assured him nothing was wrong. "Chrom finally proposed to Robin!"

Ricken's eyes found the new couple in the center of a crowd. They were staring around the crowd smiling shyly and sneaking peaks and sharing smiles with one another every once in a while. Ricken felt weird, he should have been elated that the two people he admired the most were getting married. But there was something in him that didn't want them to get married but he couldn't explain why, they were a good pair. But the more he saw how happy they made each other he couldn't help catch their cheer. Though a little part of him didn't want to see them together he did support them together, no one could be better for the other than Robin and Chrom. He joined the crowd in congratulating the couple.

A couple weeks later when they were on the road home he received an answer letter from his family. The first person he went to show was Robin. They wrote about how proud he already made them with all he's done. Before he could hide the letter Robin noticed what his family had said about her. His family had read his admiration differently and asked when he was going to introduce his lady friend to the family.

"Oh, you're family thinks you fancy me," Robin teased lightly as she held the letter out of Ricken's reach as she continued to read. Oh if only she knew how close to the truth they were. Ricken didn't fully understand it but he felt embarrassed having Robin read about his families assumptions.

"Who fancies who?" Ricken froze at the voice. He turned around to see Chrom standing arms crossed and not looking all that happy. Ricken didn't know why but he felt uncomfortable under Chrom's gaze. "Ricken, could I have a word with you." He gave Robin a confused look and she shrugged, confused herself.

When they were alone he was less cold but still seemed uneasy. "Ricken... listen. I know you...admire...Robin a lot but don't you think you've been spending a lot of time with her..." Chrom looked into Ricken's eyes hoping he'd understand the message and save him the embarrassment of saying it out loud.

All of a sudden it made sense to Ricken. Why Chrom kept staring at them whenever he went to her for advice, why he got cold whenever he caught them laughing together. Ricken blushed, embarrassed by the revelation. "I'm sorry Chrom, I didn't realize how left out I made you feel! But don't worry you'll always be the person I admire the most!"

* * *

**Ugh, I turned all Ricken's support all depressing. Though I have to say the story turned out better than I thought since I began typing without much in mind except the supports and the ending LOL Not a lot of Chrom that much in this chapter though... Ricken is so hard to write for LOL I do find him adorable with all the animals and stuff and I love his supports with Henry, they're so funny LOL ... Well that's it... Hope you still enjoyed the read and thanks for supporting this story and my spontaneous and rusty writing abilities.-DBSKLOVER**


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